The EU will never recognize Russian “elections” in the occupied territories of Ukraine

Today, 11:55◉ 02 min readEditorial team “SHCHO STALOSIA”

The European Union once again stressed that the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation cannot be extended to the territory of Ukraine. — Ukrinform.

The EU will never recognize Russian “elections” in the occupied territories of Ukraine

This is stated in a statement by EU High Representative Kai Kallas, made on behalf of the EU, Ukrinform reports.

"The State Duma elections held by Russia on September 18-20 highlighted the long and deepening erosion of democracy in Russia, which is taking place in an increasingly authoritarian political environment. The lack of equal conditions for all participants was further aggravated by Russia's illegal military aggression against Ukraine and the ongoing illegal occupation of Ukrainian territories, "the statement reads.

It is emphasized that the European Union "strongly condemns the illegal organization by the Russian Federation of the so-called elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, namely in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, as well as in parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. "

Details

These so-called elections are “yet another flagrant violation by Russia of international law, in particular the UN Charter, as well as the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

The European Union called on Russia to respect the internationally recognized borders and sovereignty of Ukraine and reaffirmed that it “does not and will never recognize either the holding of these so-called elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine or the their results. ”

Context

In this context, the European Union and the Member States reaffirmed their continued support to Russian civil society organisations, human rights defenders and independent media.

What's next

"Regarding the persons involved in the organization of these sham elections or who ran as candidates in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, as well as those responsible for undermining the possibility of holding free and fair elections in Russia itself, sanctions will be imposed, "the statement said.

It is recalled that the russian authorities continue to intensify systematic and institutionalized internal and transnational repressions in order to prevent the participation of any democratic opposition forces in changing the current state of affairs. According to the EU, the decision not to allow candidates from the Yabloko party to participate in the elections on the federal list further limited the choice for Russian voters, eliminating one of the last opposition forces and a single party from the electoral process with an anti-war program.