Ukraine condemns Russia’s ‘elections’ in occupied territories

This was stated in the statement by Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the “elections” to the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Ukrinform reports.

“On September 18–20, Russia will hold so-called ‘elections’ to the State Duma of the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. This is a farce staged by the occupying state that has nothing to do with democratic elections and creates no legal basis whatsoever for extending Russia’s jurisdiction to any part of Ukraine’s territory,” the Foreign Ministry said.

The Ministry stressed that since 2014, the only legitimate results of votes concerning Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories have been the results recorded on the screens of the UN General Assembly, including the vote in which 143 UN member states confirmed the illegality of the occupation and demanded that Russia withdraw its troops from all Ukrainian territories within their internationally recognized borders.

The Foreign Ministry noted in this context that no “vote” organized by Russia at gunpoint changes the internationally recognized status of these territories, and that temporary occupation does not create sovereign rights for the occupying state.

“Ukraine does not recognize either the holding of these illegal ‘elections’ or their null and void results. We call on foreign states, international organizations, and other subjects of international law likewise not to recognize these actions by Russia and not to regard them as an expression of the legitimate political will of people in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. We warn against any participation in this illegal undertaking, which may have legal consequences in national and international jurisdictions,” the statement said.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also stressed that the inclusion in the Russian parliament of representatives elected in illegal elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and other states further undermines the legitimacy of the entire composition of the Russian State Duma.

“Any ‘elections’ in modern Russia are merely a farce. After more than a quarter-century of Putin’s rule, democracy, freedom of speech, political pluralism, and any respect for basic civil liberties are absent in that country. We call on the international community to call things by their proper names: the so-called ‘elections’ to the Russian State Duma are merely a show designed to create the illusion of public support for the aggressive policy of the regime in Moscow,” the Ministry stressed.

As reported by Ukrinform, Russia will hold “elections” to the State Duma on September 18–20. These will be the first State Duma elections since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The aggressor state also plans to hold the “elections” in the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Luhansk regions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that following the “elections,” Vladimir Putin intends to launch a mobilization and plans to call up between 300,000 and 500,000 people.

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in October 2022 by 143 votes reaffirming Ukraine’s territorial integrity and rejecting Russia’s attempted annexation of four Ukrainian regions.