The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine calls on Ukrainians living in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine or forced to stay on Russian territory not to participate in the "pseudo-elections" of the President of the Russian Federation, and foreign states and international organizations not to send international observers and refrain from recognizing their results.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also urged Ukrainian citizens to avoid crowded places near "polling stations" and the military infrastructure of the Russian occupation forces for their own safety, given the Russian authorities' proclivity for provocations.

In its statement, the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine notes that forcing millions of Ukrainian citizens who live in temporarily occupied territories or who have been forcibly transferred to Russian Federation territory to participate in the so-called "elections" is equally illegal.

“This, combined with the absence of any signs of compliance with generally recognized democratic principles and election standards in the Russian Federation, as well as the elimination of opponents of the Russian authorities, calls into question the objectivity and legitimacy of any results of these ‘pseudo-elections,’” the ministry noted.

Thus, Ukraine calls on foreign states and international organizations not to send international observers to participate “in yet another farce that the Kremlin is passing off as a presidential election, organized by it, in particular, on the sovereign territory of Ukraine, to refrain from recognizing the results of these "elections," and warns that all violators of Ukrainian legislation will be brought to justice.”

The Foreign Ministry stressed that Russia's dictatorship has long had nothing to do with democracy, including open and competitive elections. Vladimir Putin, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on suspicion of committing serious war crimes, has been in power “for 24 years, not through the free expression of the people's will, but through manipulation of the Russian Federation's Constitution, total propaganda, the destruction of all manifestations of political competition and political violence, including the assassination of significant independent political figures.”

“The continued preservation of Putin's aggressive and revanchist regime poses an unprecedented challenge to Europe, Central Asia, and other parts of the world that may be affected if Russian terror and chaos spread further. Ignoring this will only heighten the threat to international peace and security. We urge the international media and public figures not to assist the Kremlin in creating the illusion of an electoral process and to refrain from referring to this farce as ‘elections’ in the language of democratic states,” the Foreign Ministry stated.

Thus, Ukraine urges the democratic world to reaffirm its respect for human life, the rule of law, and democratic values by maximizing its support for our country and the Ukrainian people in the fight against Russian terror, as well as its support for the UN Charter's purposes and principles through continued unwavering non-recognition of Russia's occupation of Ukraine.