SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine

With 100 percent of the votes counted, Crimea's Referendum Commission Chair Mikhail Malyshev announced Monday morning that 96.77 percent of the electorate had voted in favor of joining the Russian Federation.

"The number of those who participated in the referendum and voted in favor of a union with Russia totaled 1,233,002, 96.77 percent," Malyshev said in an official statement Sunday posted on the website of Russian news agency RIA-Novosti.

Crimeans went to the polls Sunday in a referendum condemned by the international community and the Ukraine government. Moscow has steadfastly backed the vote, calling it legitimate and in line with international legal standards.

englishnews@aa.com.tr