EU and 55 countries condemn pseudo-election of Russian president in occupied territories of Ukraine

This was reported by the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations.

The statement was signed by Ukraine, Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Palau, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Uruguay and the European Union.

“We condemn in the strongest terms the Russian Federation’s illegitimate attempts to organize Russian presidential elections in temporarily occupied areas within the internationally recognized territory of Ukraine. Holding elections in another UN member state’s territory without its consent is in manifest disregard for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. Such elections have no validity under international law,” the document says.

The countries called on all states, international organizations and specialized agencies of the United Nations not to recognize any changes by Russia to the status of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, as well as any or all of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk or Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine, and to refrain from any action or agreement that could be construed as recognizing any such changed status.

“We demand the Russian Federation refrain from holding illegitimate elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. We reiterate the General Assembly’s call for the Russian Federation to stop its war of aggression against Ukraine and to immediately, completely, and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders,” the countries underscored.

They also reaffirmed support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, extending to its territorial waters.

• Ukraine has called on the international community not to send observers to the temporarily occupied territories, and on the media not to call the sham process "elections". The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine emphasizes that holding "elections" of the President of the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine is illegal and will not have any legal consequences.

• From March 11 to 15, early voting for the Russian president took place in the temporarily occupied territory of Luhansk region, intended for residents of communities remote from the so-called polling stations.

• Britain's envoy to the OSCE, the UN Secretary General and the UN Security Council have condemned Putin's sham elections in Ukraine's occupied territories, calling them illegal.