U.S. Condemns 'Sham' Russian Elections In Occupied Ukrainian Territories

The United States on Thursday condemned Russia’s continuing efforts to undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence through 'sham' elections held in occupied Ukrainian territories, as State Department's Spokesperson Matthew Miller put it, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"The United States does not and will never recognize the legitimacy or outcome of these sham elections held in sovereign Ukraine as part of Russia’s presidential elections," Miller told a daily briefing.

He went on to emphasize, "To be clear, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya, Kherson, and Crimea are Ukraine.  The results of these Potemkin-style exercises will be dictated by Moscow and cannot reflect the free will of the citizens of Ukraine who are being compelled to vote in them."

Miller also said that the U.S. will continue to use "all available tools" to hold accountable those individuals responsible for actions that undermine the sovereignty, territorial integrity, or political independence of free countries, including those who serve as election observers for the Kremlin’s sham elections in occupied parts of Ukraine.

When asked by TURAN whether Washington's decision not to recognize Putin's sham elections outside his borders — as he is seeking another six-year term — questions his legitimacy, Miller said, it "very clearly shows that he disrespects international law."  "There is no legitimacy with respect to his claims for Ukraine, either the territory where they are holding these sham elections right now or the rest of Ukraine where he continues to have designs," he added.

As for the elections in Russia, the spokesperson said Washington will watch it closely, "and I’m sure we’ll have plenty to say when it concludes."

In the meantime, he went on to add, "If you just look back at what we’ve seen over the past few weeks, we saw the Kremlin’s leading critic, Aleksey Navalny, die in custody following years of harassment and abuse. We’ve seen the Russian Government attack one of his longtime aides, and we’ve seen them continue to deny anti-war candidates’ registration on spurious grounds and to deprive Russian voters of genuine choices. So we have seen the Russian Government, not just over the past months in the lead-up to this election but of course for years, crack down on the ability of Russian civil society to operate, the ability of independent journalists to exercise their legitimate rights, and, of course, the ability of the Russian citizens to speak clearly. "