Ukraine calls planned presidential polls in territories under Russian control ‘null and void’

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Kyiv said on Thursday that the planned Russian presidential election in Ukrainian territories under Moscow’s control is “legally null and void,” calling on foreign countries and international organizations to refrain from recognizing its results.

A statement by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that the ongoing efforts to initiate an election process in territories annexed by Russia in 2022 — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — as well as the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014, show Russia’s “continued flagrant disregard for international law norms and principles.”

It said that Moscow “deliberately ignores” calls to end the organization of the presidential election in these regions despite the international community’s condemnation, and defined them as “illegal” and without “any legal consequences.”

“We urge Ukrainian citizens who live in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine or are forced to stay in the territory of the Russian Federation not to participate in the ‘pseudo-elections’ of the Russian President,” the statement further said.

It also urged those in territories under Russian control to avoid crowded places near polling stations and infrastructure belonging to the Russian military.

It went on to call on foreign countries and international organizations not to send international observers to participate in the election and to refrain from recognizing its results.

Russia will hold a presidential election on March 15-17, the first three-day presidential election in the country’s history, in which incumbent President Vladimir Putin will seek a fifth term in office.