Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha has called Russia's planned Sept 18-20 "elections" a farce, saying the process does not meet democratic standards and is meant to create an appearance of internal legitimacy for Putin's regime.
"The farce that will take place in Russia on Sept 18-20 cannot be called 'legislative elections,'" Sybiha wrote on X.
Putin has ruled Russia for 26 years — longer than Joseph Stalin — during which his regime has systematically dismantled everything that resembled democracy, the foreign minister said.
Freedom of speech is harshly suppressed in Russia, opposition figures are imprisoned or killed, and the only political party that expressed even moderate criticism of the war against Ukraine has been banned, Sybiha said. The remaining voting options give voters no real choice, and independent OSCE observers have been completely barred, he said.
Sybiha separately stressed that the so-called "elections" are planned to be held in illegally occupied territories of other sovereign states, including Ukraine's Crimea and the occupied eastern and southern regions of Ukraine.
"This unlawful vote will be invalid, will constitute a blatant violation of international law, and will further delegitimize the entire process," Sybiha said.
He called on the international community and media to call things what they are.
"This is not an election. It's a farce that Putin's regime is using to create an appearance of domestic legitimacy, continue its war of aggression, and mobilize more men as cannon fodder," Ukraine's foreign minister said.
