UN Secretary General on Putin's "elections" in occupied Ukrainian cities: null and void

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the holding of "elections" of the president of the aggressor country Russia on the territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by Russian troops. This "voting" has no legal force under international law.

Guterres' statement was quoted by UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Friday, March 15, Reuters reports. From the point of view of international law, attempts to illegally annex regions of Ukraine are not legally binding.

"The United Nations remains unwaveringly committed to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, in accordance with the relevant General Assembly resolutions," Dujarric said.

As a reminder, Ukraine's permanent representative to the UN, Serhii Kyslytsia, said at a Security Council meeting that the results of the Russian presidential "elections" should be questioned because they were held in violation of international law. The voting has nothing to do with the free and fair expression of the will of the people.

He drew attention to the fact that the fictitious election process in the temporarily occupied territories is characterized by intimidation and coercion of the local population. The occupiers resorted to illegal detentions and threats to life and denied Ukrainians access to medical services.

As reported, in the temporarily occupied Henichesk in the Kherson region, the occupiers are forcing Ukrainians to vote at polling stations. To do this, they conduct searches in the apartments of locals and kidnap people.

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