Ukraine has called upon the international community to refrain from recognizing the “sham elections” taking place in the Ukrainian regions currently under Russian occupation.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Friday, asserting that the “sham elections being conducted by Russia in temporarily occupied territories hold no legal validity and will have no bearing on the international status of the Ukrainian territories seized by Russian military forces.”
Kyiv has also called for the organizers of these elections, along with Russian authorities and occupation administration members, to be held accountable before the law.
Additionally, the Ukrainian government has called for the imposition of new sanctions on those responsible.
Local and regional elections in Russia are set to continue until the upcoming Sunday.
Amid the ongoing large-scale Russian aggression that has persisted for over a year and a half, the Kremlin has made the controversial decision to hold elections in the Ukrainian territories it annexed, including Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson. These elections, organized by the occupying force, lack any international legitimacy.
In response, the US Department of State has characterized these elections in Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk as “sham.”
In a statement, the Department of State added that the Kremlin hopes the predetermined and fabricated results of these elections will further its illegitimate claims to the parts of Ukraine it occupies.
However, such attempts are viewed as nothing more than empty propaganda.
