Voting is dishonest and illegal, and Putin is a thief: how the Western world reacted to the imitation of elections in Russia

On March 15-17, 2024, the so-called presidential elections were held in Russia. However, according to the international community, they cannot be considered legal, free, and fair.

OBOZ.UA has collected the reactions of Western politicians and institutions to the voting results. Despite international law, the elections were organized in the occupied Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as in the occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions.

The European Council stated that the Russian authorities continue to intensify systematic internal repression, suppressing opposition politicians, independent media, and other critical voices, using repressive legislation and politically motivated prison sentences. The EU also regretted the decision of the Russian authorities not to invite OSCE observers to its elections.

At the same time, the European Union "strongly condemned" the illegal holding of the so-called "elections" in the territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by Russia. The EU noted that the so-called "elections" in these territories are another clear violation of international law by Russia.

"The European Union reaffirms its unwavering support for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. Russia must end its illegal aggressive war against Ukraine and immediately, fully and unconditionally withdraw its armed forces and equipment from all of Ukraine's territory," the European Council website said.

The Polish Foreign Ministry condemned the Kremlin's illegal decision to hold elections in the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories.

"This is a blatant violation of international law and cannot be seen as anything other than another attempt to undermine Ukraine's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity," the Polish Foreign Ministry said.

The diplomats also noted that Poland does not recognize the organization and results of the "elections" in these territories. Russia should be held responsible for organizing and holding them on Ukrainian territories.

The foreign ministries of Germany and the United Kingdom also condemned the elections.

British Defense Secretary Grant Shepps called Putin a "thief".

German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he would not congratulate the Russian president on his re-election, although in 2018, 4 years after the annexation of Crimea, he sent a congratulatory letter to the Kremlin leader.

According to the Russian Central Election Commission, as of 10:25 a.m. on March 18, Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin allegedly won more than 87% of the vote. The Russians also said that they had already processed 99.75% of the ballots.

Kremlin propagandists also claimed that the dictator was congratulated on his "victory" by his "competitors." Russian politicians, in turn, called Putin's "result" in the election "powerful and convincing."

At 3:20 p.m., Russia announced that 100% of the votes had been counted. According to the results of the fake election, dictator Putin allegedly won 87.28% of the vote. Other "candidates" received approximately 3-4% of the vote. Russia also claims that the turnout in the "elections" exceeded 77%.

As previously reported by OBOZ.UA, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Putin is doing everything to rule for life, although he should be in the dock in The Hague.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, Russia held illegal presidential elections on Sunday, March 17. The current dictator Vladimir Putin was "painted" as an absolute victory with a result of more than 87% of the vote.

Earlier, Russian Telegram channels reported that a small number of Russian citizens decided to express their "protest" against the dictator's election with a spoiled ballot, stating that Putin is a murderer.

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