Sevastopol , Crimea ( CNN ) -- As I wait in line , staring down at the notes in my iPhone to remember the exact order for two Quarter Pounder with Cheese meals for our engineer and cameraman , I could well be in any McDonald 's in the world . The golden arches , the familiar red signs with Ronald McDonald staring straight at me and the menu remain the same wherever you go in the world , such is the long arm of American corporate globalization . This restaurant is certainly a testament to that . However , this is n't New York . Nor is it London . It is Crimea . With a couple of Mercedes sports cars parked on the curb , facing the town 's Apple store , this particular McDonald 's is doing a roaring trade this Friday lunchtime . Russians reported in Ukraine outside Crimea . It 's only two days before the region 's people will go to the ballot boxes and vote on whether to stay part of the Ukraine or join Russia . The referendum will be held on Sunday . From what we have seen here , this will be largely symbolic . From what we can see , the majority of Crimeans would rather look toward Moscow than Kiev and the white , blue and red of the Russian flag is already flying through these streets . Our team was asked to come down here to the port of Sevastopol after having spent a week in the heart of the Crimean capital , Simferopol , dodging cossacks with their whips , men with more than a whiff of vodka on their breath and Russian soldiers sporting trendy balaclavas and AK47s . Nestled on the Black Sea , Sevastopol is a party town , prettier than the capital . Luxury yachts are in the port side by side with Russian destroyers . There are many nightclubs and bars . Indeed , the main square has had a concert on every night for the past seven days to celebrate returning back to the `` motherland . '' Contrary to what the European foreign ministers say on their official Twitter accounts and what the State Department may read out during their briefings in Washington , the majority of the people we have spoken with here are glad the Russian bear has woken up . And they are happy to roar with it . I mean , in their eyes with the amount of propaganda from billboards with swastikas over the map of Ukraine and rumors of terrorists in Kiev , who would n't want to be Russian ? In their eyes , it 's either that or being a Nazi . The main square here fills up each lunchtime with cossacks , Russian flags and the local pro-Russian militias with their red armbands dressed all in black . The music reminds me of old Soviet propaganda films and these men in their gangs of militias remind me of my history lessons learning about the so-called `` brownshirts '' of Adolf Hitler 's SA during the 1930s . The irony not lost that these men who chant `` Putin , Putin , Putin '' and call those who protested in Maidan square fascists look very similar to those real fascists pictured in my old history books . Any dissent here has now been stamped out . We have been in this town for over a week now , and I have n't seen one Ukrainian flag apart from the two on the Ukrainian warships blockaded in the port . It is far too dangerous for any pro-Ukranian voices to speak out . News of abductions and kidnapping are daily here , and as we enjoyed a meal last night , we were asked to give our details to the Ukrainian police officers who detained us there for just under an hour . They are carefully watched over by their new Russian boss . A plainclothed FSB ( Russian secret police ) officer making sure that the local police now start to monitor the movements of Western journalists properly . An apologetic `` sorry '' was uttered in English after they had finished taking our passport details . No matter how the older generation here roar and chant the Russian President 's name , there is a bubble under the surface . The majority of young people here have grown up as Ukrainian , never under the watchful eye of Moscow , and they are n't too pleased . Every time you ask them what they think , you just get a sigh as they say `` What can we do ? '' and talk of perhaps one day leaving to Kiev . And so the result of the referendum on Sunday will go one way . There may be two questions posed on the ballot paper , but there is already only one answer . That answer being written in Cyrillic . Yet Monday , before we leave Crimea and take our flights back to London , via Moscow as all other flights to and from other destinations have been canceled , I may well pop in and grab a bite for the road . I am sure that I will still look around in that full restaurant and see the same Ukrainian faces , paying for their meals with Ukrainian currency with a Big Mac in one hand and a Russian flag in the other . Legal or not , Crimean referendum will shape country 's future . McCain goes to Kiev , calls for U.S. military support .
CNN 's Mike Gallagher and a reporter have been in port city of Sevastopol . They report a Russian ca n't stop the expansion of McDonald 's , which is doing a thriving business . From the looks of it , the residents of Crimea are happy the Russian government has won .