The spokesperson for the European External Action Service denounced, on Saturday 17 June, the announcement by Russia’s Central Electoral Commission that it will hold ‘elections’ in September “in the territories of Ukraine that Russia temporarily militarily occupies, in yet another violation of international law”.
For the spokesperson, this is a “further futile attempt” by Russia to “pretend to legitimise its illegal military control and attempted annexation” of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.
The spokesperson said that Russia had no legitimate basis for organising elections on Ukrainian territory and that “Russia, its political leadership, and all those involved in the organisation of these so-called elections will face consequences of their illegal actions“.
The purpose of these ‘elections’ is to elect regional assemblies and municipal councils, according to the Russian electoral commission. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)