Ukraine expressed its strong rejection of Russia's “electoral farce” and called on citizens to abstain from voting in the occupied territories.

On Friday, Ukraine expressed its strong condemnation of the presidential elections held by Russia in the occupied territories Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhye, Kherson And Crimea And It called on its citizens to refrain from participating in this An electoral “farce”.suffers from many violations.

Deputy Minister of Ukraine Irina VereshchukHe urged the residents of these occupied areas, which constitute about 20% of the country’s area, to avoid participating in the elections “by all available means.”

“The occupiers can choose whomever they want and say whatever they want in their justification. The main thing is for Ukrainian citizens to avoid participating in this farce“, He said Vereshchuk As the main phase of three-day voting begins on Friday in Russia and the territories it illegally annexed in 2014 and 2022.

Vereshchuk stressed this Russia “does not respect any international rights, freedoms, customs or agreements.”In these territories, he asked the residents of these occupied areas to “do everything in their power to leave.”

Petro AndryushenkoThe legal advisor to the mayor of the Russian-occupied eastern city of Mariupol said that these elections are not only illegitimate, but lack the basic characteristics of real elections.

“It's not just about their illegality. The fact is that they don't have any electoral properties.”

Andryushenko said that the supposed legitimacy of the Russian occupation through these elections is an attempt to create an image of widespread support for the president. Russian President Vladimir PutinBut no information about Electoral participation It will lack credibility and will be out of touch with reality.

“There cannot be reliable data just because there are no voter lists. Holding elections, even if they are illegal, without these lists is nonsense.Andryushenko denounced.

According to him, less than 20% of Mariupol's population is still in the city, while tens of thousands of Russians have arrived there since its capture almost two years ago.

To encourage participation, Russia officially allows even only those residents who own Ukrainian passports.

“It is nonsense for Ukrainian citizens to elect the President of the Russian Federation“Andryushenko confirmed.

Since many have multiple passports, they can easily vote as many times as they want in the absence of effective oversight.

“In our experience, a member of the resistance was able to vote 15 times,” Andryushenko said.

In the midst of these elections, Katerina Mijalevska, an analyst at the NGO OPERAHe noted that Russia is using the elections to test the loyalty of the remaining population, even going so far as to force them to vote.

In the occupied territories Zaporozhye And KhersonMembers of Russian-appointed electoral commissions have visited residents in their homes since February 25, accompanied by at least one armed soldier.

He added: “There are videos and testimonies that we obtained, directly and anonymously, that confirm this. If someone refuses to vote in his presence, he is immediately asked: Why? Mijalevska denounced.

evgeny palitsky, Russia appointed him commander in the occupied region Zaporozhye It publicly announced a plan to liquidate and deport “untrustworthy citizens,” according to the expert.

Mijalevska noted that in many cases, voting takes place at improvised “ballot tables” on the streets, where confidentiality of voting, effective supervision or secure storage of ballot papers are not guaranteed.

Ukraine asked foreign countries and international organizations to refrain from recognizing the results of these “fake elections.”

While OPORA maintains that these “elections” are intended to confirm the “desire” of the occupied territories to join Russia, Androshenko estimates that only 25% of the remaining population in Mariupol holds pro-Russian views.

“These 15,000-20,000 people are enough to create propaganda videos, but they do not reflect the true will of the population.“, he claimed.

In this context, the recognition by international organizations and United Nations member states of the legitimacy of the election results in Russia would prove its crisis and inability to isolate Russia diplomatically, according to Megalevska.

(With information from EFE)