Zelenskyy sanctions 44 individuals involved in sham elections in temporarily occupied territories

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has enacted sanctions against 44 individuals involved in the organisation of sham elections to the lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

Source: the president's website

Details: The individuals concerned are acting in Russia's interests and facilitating the occupation of territories in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, as well as Crimea and Sevastopol.

Those sanctioned include Russian propagandist Irina Kuksenkova and former Ukrainian MP Yurii Onyshchuk, who began collaborating with the Russians after the occupation of Melitopol.

Some of the individuals on the list have already been "elected" to local councils established by the Kremlin-installed occupation authorities.

The President's Office stressed that the so-called "elections" held by Russia in occupied Ukrainian territories are illegal and their results carry no legal force.

Information on the sanctioned individuals will be shared with Ukraine's international partners so that they can introduce similar restrictions in their own jurisdictions.

Background: Russia's sham elections in the temporarily occupied part of Kherson Oblast featured themed polling stations styled after different periods of history – from the Russian Empire to the post-war USSR.

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