The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (MFA) has said that the results of voting for the Russian president to be held on the territory of the Russian-annexed Crimea will not be recognized by Ukraine or the international community and will cast doubt on the legitimacy of the presidential election in general.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine resolutely condemns the decision by the Russian occupation administration to hold on March 18, 2018 the election of the Russian president in the territories of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, which are temporarily occupied by Russia... The results of illegitimate voting will be null and void from a legal point of view, will not have any legal consequences and will not be recognized by Ukraine or by the international community. All those involved in the organization and holding of illegal voting in the temporarily occupied Crimea will be held accountable in accordance with the legislation of Ukraine," the ministry said in a statement posted on its website on Friday.

Ukrainian diplomats also stressed that illegal voting in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine would distort the results of the Russian presidential elections in general and thus cast serious doubt on their legitimacy.

The Foreign Ministry also welcomes the decision by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and other international partners not to participate in monitoring the illegal electoral process in the occupied Crimea and Sevastopol.