Ukraine calls Russian State Duma elections in occupied territories illegal and void

“This is a farce by the occupying state that has nothing to do with democratic elections and creates no legal basis for extending Russia’s jurisdiction to any part of Ukraine’s territory,” the ministry said.

The ministry said the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, as well as the temporarily occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson oblasts, are integral parts of Ukraine, and that their liberation from Russian occupation is a necessary condition for restoring Ukraine’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.

Seating representatives elected in illegal elections held in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and other countries would further deprive the entire Russian State Duma of legitimacy, the ministry said.

It added that no “vote” illegally organized by Russian occupying forces changes the internationally recognized status of Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories.

On Aug. 13, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry warned observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States against visiting Ukrainian territories temporarily occupied by Russia, where the aggressor state plans to illegally hold voting in the State Duma elections.

On Sept. 10, Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service said Russia could resort to provocations and terrorist attacks under a “false flag” in Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories during the State Duma elections.