Moscow ( CNN ) -- Voters in rebel-held eastern Ukraine turned out at the polls Sunday to elect members of Parliament and prime ministers in the pro-Russian separatist provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk in a vote criticized by the Ukrainian government in Kiev and Western governments . Against a backdrop of violence and bloodshed , the vote played out despite a truce on paper between pro-Russian separatist groups and Ukrainian government forces . Moscow has said it will recognize the results , while the central Ukraine government in Kiev , the United States and European Union have condemned the elections , calling them `` illegitimate '' and a violation of the Minsk agreement . The self-proclaimed People 's Republic of Donetsk announced that its current Prime Minister , Aleksandr Zakharchenko , had won the vote there . After all the ballot papers were counted , Zakharchenko secured 765,350 votes , Roman Lyagin , the leader of the Central Election Commission in Donetsk , told a news conference Monday . He did n't say what percentage of the vote that was . `` Everything went better than expected , '' Lyagin had earlier told Novorossiya , the press center for the separatist Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk . In the self-declared Luhansk People 's Republic , the head of the Central Election Commission said more then a half million people turned out to cast ballots at over 100 polling stations , including three inside Russia , according to preliminary numbers from the CEC 's website . The vote count is now under way . Earlier Sunday , Luhansk CEC head Sergei Kozyakov told Itar-Tass so many people turned out to vote they extended polling station hours at several locations until 10 p.m . The Russian news agency also reported on a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry , which said it considers the vote valid . `` The elections in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions were held in an organized way in general and with high voter turnout , '' the ministry said , according to Itar-Tass . `` We respect the will expression of the citizens of the southeast . '' Authorities in Kiev are basically ignoring the election . In a statement Sunday , the Security Service of Ukraine said `` it is a false election ... and a farce organized by criminals to collect data about people . '' Before the vote , Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called the ballot `` pseudo elections ... by terrorists and bandits . '' Ukrainian authorities also said Sunday they are launching a criminal investigation into the separatist elections , calling it `` a power grab , '' Agence France-Presse reported , citing the Security Service of Ukraine . Vegetables in exchange for votes . Some residents of the devastated region have said they were determined to participate in the vote , whether it 's recognized by Kiev or not . And many were rewarded with offers of free or cheap fruits and vegetables . Pictures at polling stations show large piles of vegetables outside stations in some areas in a bid to lure voters to polls . Produce aside , people said they hoped the election would help end the violence . `` Day and night we hear shots . Yes , they bomb us . Yes , we have bomb shelters and basements . But we do n't want to go back there . That 's why we are preparing for the elections and hope for something better , '' said Tatyana , a schoolteacher . `` Mostly people are afraid . The constant shooting scares people . But of course we should go and vote to reach something good in life , '' said Valentina . But there is no way to even verify the credibility of the balloting in the rebel-held areas . The voting has actually been under way for a week , by email and at mobile voting stations . And no official observers have been used to monitor the voting . Last weekend , the bulk of Ukraine under government control held its own parliamentary elections , which kept pro-Western parties in power . But citizens in Russian-annexed Crimea and the eastern areas controlled by separatists did n't participate in those elections because of the ongoing violence . U.S. and Russia at loggerheads . As Ukraine wrestles with internal turmoil , torn between Russiaan influence and Western support , the United States slammed the separatist vote . `` US will not recognize any election in separatist areas that does n't follow Ukrainian law ( and ) is not held with consent of Ukrainian government , '' Samantha Power , U.S. ambassador to the United Nations , tweeted on Sunday . `` We deplore the intent of separatists in parts of eastern Ukraine to hold illegitimate so-called local 'elections ' on Sunday , November 2 , '' National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said in a statement Friday . She warned Russia `` against using any such illegitimate vote as a pretext to insert additional troops and military equipment into Ukraine . '' Russia is rejecting calls to distance itself from the rebel vote . `` We will of course recognize their results . And we expect that this election will be free and that no one will try to disrupt it from the outside , '' Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week . Victoria Butenko in Kiev and Alla Eshchenko contributed to this report .
NEW : Rebel Prime Minister wins in self-proclaimed Luhansk . Russian Foreign Ministry considers the vote valid . Exit polls show a half million people voted in People 's Republic of Donetsk . The Western government and Ukrainian countries have criticized the elections .