Russian elections are Putin's self-proclamation in sterile conditions – Ukraine's ambassador at UN Security Council

The fact that Russia has violated the norms and principles of international law calls into question the legitimacy of the overall results of its so-called "presidential election".

Source: Serhii Kyslytsia, Permanent Representative of Ukraine at the UN, at a meeting of the Security Council (statement transcript posted on the mission’s Facebook page), quoted by Ukrinform.

Quote: "What is now called an 'election' in Russia does not comply with generally recognised democratic principles and election standards. It has nothing in common with the free and fair expression of the will of the people.

Instead, it is rather Putin's self-reappointment under the sterile conditions of the absence of any competition."

Details: The envoy said all possible opponents of Putin have been "killed, arrested or, at best, forced to leave the country.

And those whom the Kremlin has allowed to participate "do not even hide their technical role as a mise-en-scène for the predetermined 'winner'", he added.

The Permanent Representative explained that the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine play a special role in this "sham election". The complete isolation from the outside world allows the Kremlin to "fabricate any turnout figures and election results it desires," Kyslytsia said.

The fictitious electoral process in the temporarily occupied territories is characterised by intimidation and coercion of the local population, the Permanent Representative said. The Russian invaders have developed many means to achieve this goal. These include threats to life, illegal detention, denial of access to medical and social services, intimidation by deportation and deprivation of property.

The report of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, presented on Friday in Geneva, contains "shocking evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity, which remain a grim reality in the temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine," the diplomat said. The list includes torture and intentional killings of civilians, rape and sexual violence, as well as crimes against children.

The Permanent Representative quoted an excerpt from the commission's findings.

"Russian authorities, mostly in groups, conducted house searches, sometimes on multiple occasions. They threatened and intimidated victims and their family members with weapons, including by shooting near their heads or legs." There have also been cases where women have been "subjected to sexual violence as punishment for support to the Ukrainian authorities".

"Just keep this in mind when Putin's envoy tells you about the so-called 'free people's will' in the occupied territories," Kyslytsia added, addressing the Security Council members.

Ukraine called on the international community to strongly condemn Russia's illegal attempts to imitate presidential elections in the temporarily occupied territories, refrain from recognising their results and impose sanctions on those involved in their organisation and conduct.

Putin has been in power for 24 years, not through the free expression of the people's will, but through manipulation of the Russian Constitution, propaganda, elimination of political competition and violence, including the assassination of prominent independent politicians, the Permanent Representative stressed.

He recalled that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, in a resolution adopted last year, called for Putin to be declared illegitimate after the end of his current presidential term and for all contacts with him to be terminated, except for humanitarian and peaceful ones.

The organisation of illegal elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine will be added to the materials of the upcoming trial against Putin, the diplomat stressed.

Quote: "We reiterate that the continued preservation of Putin's aggressive and revanchist regime poses an unprecedented challenge to the world. If not stopped, Russian terror and chaos will spread further."

Details: Kyslytsia said that the longer the convulsions of the Putin regime continue, the longer and more painful it will be for Russia to return to the democratic path.

The Permanent Representative stressed that the Security Council meeting showed the complete isolation of the Russian Federation.

"There is not a single delegation [today at this meeting] that has found a single word of support of the Russian illegitimate attempts to organise ‘elections’ in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine," he said.

In addition to the members of the UN Security Council, representatives of the EU missions, Italy, Poland, and Estonia also spoke at the meeting and condemned Russia's actions.

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