Ukraine condemns Russia's plan to hold 'pseudo elections' in occupied territories

Ukraine on Saturday strongly condemned Russia’s plan to hold presidential elections in the occupied territories in 2024 adding that the polls will be declared “null and void” and pledging to prosecute any observer sent to oversee them.

Russia’s upper house set the country’s presidential election this week for next March, and chairwoman Valentina Matviyenko said residents in four occupied Ukrainian regions would be able to vote for the first time.

Russia has reportedly taken control of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions in the east and south of Ukraine, inviting criticism from Ukraine and the West. Moscow, however, does not fully control these regions.

It also seized the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

“We call on the international community to resolutely condemn Russia’s intention to hold presidential elections in the occupied Ukrainian territories, and to impose sanctions on those involved in their organization and conduct,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Kyiv has also opposed the sending of observers to the “pseudo-elections”, saying offenders would “face criminal responsibility”.

“Any election in Russia has nothing to do with democracy. They serve only as a tool to keep the Russian regime in power,” the ministry said.

Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin on Friday announced his re-election bid, allowing the Kremlin leader to extend his decades-long grip on power into the 2030s.

The presidential elections in Russia will be held over a period of three days in March. Critics of the Kremlin argue that the poll strategy would make the elections less transparent and have opposed the move.

With inputs from agencies