Pro-Russian separatists will vote to set up a breakaway regional leadership in the eastern Ukraine region of Donetsk and Luhansk aiming to take their war-torn region closer to Russia and defying Kiev and the West as the big guns still boom across the territory.
Ukraine's acting president Oleksander Turchinov has called for the relaunch of an anti-terrorist operation in the east of the country after the "brutally tortured" body of a local politician from his own party was found near the separatist-controlled city of Slaviansk.
Mr Turchinov said Volodymyr Rybak, a member of Turchinov's Batkivshchyna party, had recently been abducted by "terrorists".
"These crimes are being carried out with the full support and indulgence of the Russian Federation," he said. "I call on the security agencies to relaunch and carry out effective anti-terrorist measures, with the aim of protecting Ukrainian citizens living in eastern Ukraine from terrorists."
Ukraine's curiously named Internet Party has come up with an offbeat campaign gimmick to lure voters - dressing as Star Wars characters.
Tensions remain high in eastern Ukraine after at least three died in a day of shooting during what was supposed to be an Easter truce.
In an exclusive interview with NBC News, the Ukrainian Prime Minister warns of the dangers of unchecked Russian expansion and aggression.