(MENAFN- QNA) Ukrainian voters are to go to the polls in snap elections for a new parliament.
President Petro Poroshenko called the poll as he aims to cement a new direction for the country after the ousting of pro-Russian leaders earlier this year.
But the vote will be overshadowed by a continuing conflict with pro-Russian rebels in the east.
About 3 million people in Donetsk and Luhansk regions will not vote. The separatists will hold their own polls next month, according to the (BBC).
Another 1.8 million people in Crimea, annexed by Russia in March, will not take part.
The vote also comes amid an energy crisis, with Russia cutting off gas supplies to Ukraine in June in a dispute over unpaid bills.
Ukraine's economy is collapsing, with GDP forecast to fall between 7 and 10% this year.
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