Steve Sweeney third from left at the top by New Worker correspondent A video conference was held last week between Steve Sweeney, a reporter for RT News now based in Moscow, and members of International Ukraine Anti Fascist Solidarity (IUAFS) in the UK. Steve was previously International Editor of the Morning Star , and is also a member of IUAFS. He regularly reports from the Donbas and other regions of Ukraine which recently joined the Russian Federation. Steve visited polling stations in Donetsk during the recent elections for local and Duma representatives in the people’s republics which recently joined the Russian Federation, and said they appeared to be open, free and fair. He said he had witnessed "a return to democratic life". He spoke to an old man who was in tears and said that it was the first time in nine years he'd been able to vote. However the Ukrainian Armed Forces deliberately targeted polling stations, and in one strike two civilians were killed.