Ukraine says any Russian presidential voting in its occupied regions would be ‘null and void’

Ukraine on Saturday condemned Russia’s intention to organize presidential election voting in occupied Ukrainian territory next year.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said any such balloting held in the occupied regions in the country would be “null and void” and pledged that any international observers sent to monitor the Russian election would “face criminal responsibility.”

“We call on the international community to resolutely condemn Russia’s intention to hold presidential elections in the occupied Ukrainian territories, and to impose sanctions on those involved in their organization and conduct,” Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said.

Lawmakers in Russia last week set the country’s 2024 presidential election for March 17. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his candidacy for reelection. He is all but certain to win another six-year term.

Russian authorities are still pondering whether to arrange the voting in Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. Moscow illegally annexed the four regions in September 2022 but only controls parts of them.