Ukraine's Foreign Ministry: no Russian elections held at gunpoint are legitimate

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine urges the world not to recognise the Russian elections to the State Duma (lower chamber of the Russian parliament) and regional parliaments, which the aggressor state is conducting both on its own territory and in occupied Ukraine.

Source: Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Quote: "On 18-20 September, Russia will conduct so-called 'elections' to the State Duma of the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. This is a farce by the occupying state, which has nothing in common with democratic elections and creates no legal grounds for extending Russia's jurisdiction over any part of Ukraine's territory."

Details: The MFA recalls that after 2014, the only legitimate result of voting regarding the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine was the result on the UN General Assembly voting board, particularly when 143 UN member states confirmed the illegality of the occupation and the demand for Russia to withdraw its troops from all Ukrainian territories within internationally recognised borders.

MFA emphasises that no "voting" at gunpoint organised by Russia changes the internationally recognised status of these territories. Temporary occupation confers no sovereign rights upon the occupying state.

Ukraine recognises neither the holding of these illegal elections nor their results. The MFA calls on foreign states, international organisations, and other subjects of international law to likewise refuse to recognise these actions by Russia and not to view them as an expression of the lawful political will of the people in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. The ministry warns against any participation in this illegal action, which will carry legal consequences in national and international jurisdictions.

Quote: "Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, as well as the temporarily occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts, are an integral part of Ukraine. Their liberation from Russian occupation is a necessary condition for restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders, including the territorial sea.

Furthermore, introducing representatives elected in illegal elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and other states into the Russian parliament further deprives the entire composition of the State Duma of the Russian Federation of legitimacy.

Any 'elections' in modern Russia are merely a farce. After over a quarter of a century of Putin's rule, democracy, freedom of speech, pluralism of political parties, and any respect for basic civil liberties are absent in this country."

Background: During the three-day voting in the elections to the State Duma and regional parliaments on 18-21 September in Russia, mobile communications and the internet may be switched off due to so-called "security measures". At the same time, systematic pressure on observers, coercion of public sector workers, and widespread falsifications are being recorded across the country.

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