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Russia to hold sham 'presidential elections' in occupied Ukraine in March: UK gov't

17.12.2023 21:00
Russia plans to extend its March 2024 presidential elections to the Ukrainian regions it claimed to have annexed last year, to legitimise its invasion of Ukraine,  according to the British ministry of defence. 
Vladimir Putin.
Vladimir Putin.PAP/EPA/SPUTNIK POOL

The Russian Central Election Commission announced the decision last Monday, according to news outlets.

Voting in the March 15-17, 2024 presidential election will extend to the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine.

In September 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed documents "incorporating" them into Russia.

In September 2023, voting in Russia's regional elections was also held in the four "annexed" provinces of Ukraine. 

Britain's ministry of defence stated on Sunday: "As with the regional elections, it is almost certain that presidential election voting in the Russian-controlled regions will be neither free nor fair."

The Russian authorities will almost certainly seek to ensure the "correct" results, so as to "give the perception of legitimacy" to the Kremlin's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, according to officials in London.

Russian administrators are likely to resort to "substantive electoral fraud" and "voter intimidation" to make sure that Putin wins the ballot in occupied parts of Ukraine "by a substantial margin," the UK ministry of defence added.

Last Tuesday, the European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said the bloc condemned Russia's plans to hold presidential election in the occupied Ukrainian regions, the Ukrainska Pravda website reported.  

Borrell said the "so-called election" would "grossly violate the United Nations Charter" as well as  "Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity."

In October 2022, three-quarters of countries at the United Nations General Assembly, including Polandcondemned Russia’s “attempted illegal annexation” of the four Ukrainian provinces. 

Sunday is day 662 of Russia's war on Ukraine.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.

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Source: UK Ministry of Defence, Ukrainska PravdaEU External Action