As it happened: Crimea votes in referendum
Key Points
- Election officials say 95.5% of voters have backed joining Russia in the referendum, after half of the ballots were counted
- Crimea's leader says he will apply to join Russia on Monday and tells cheering crowds in Simferopol the region is "going home"
- Many Crimeans loyal to Kiev boycotted the referendum but election officials hailed the "record" turnout
- The EU and US say the referendum was illegal and threaten sanctions on Russia
- Russian President Vladimir Putin says he will respect the wishes of the Crimean people
- All times GMT