Ukraine Strongly Condemns Russia’s Plans to Hold State Duma Elections in Donbas

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses its resolute protest over the adoption by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation of the decision to engage through electronic voting population of the temporarily occupied territories in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the elections to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation scheduled for September.

“Such actions of the Russian side, along with the illegal organisation of the elections to the State Duma in the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. constitute a flagrant violation of norms and principles of international law, the Constitution of Ukraine, and Ukrainian legislation in force,” reads the statement posted on the Ministry’s website.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine notes that despite all attempts of Ukraine to stabilise the situation in the conflict zone, the Russian Federation continues to ignore efforts within the Normandy Four format and the Trilateral Contact Group to find an efficient way to settle the Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict in line with norms and principles of international law and with full respect of Ukraine`s sovereignty.

“Recent actions of the Russian Federation are particularly cynical taking into account the aggravation of the security situation in the conflict zone, caused by regular ceasefire violations by the Russian occupation forces, as well as further deterioration of humanitarian and socio-economic situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine,” says the statement.

The Ministry also called on the international community to condemn this step of the Russian Federation, not to recognise the elections results in the temporarily occupied territories, to strengthen the politico-diplomatic pressure on the Russian Federation.  The diplomats also demand that the Russian Federation revoke all unlawful decisions taken with regard to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and to stop taking steps aimed at further integration of the population of the temporarily occupied territories into the political, social and legal space of the Russian Federation.

Bohdan Marusyak