Russia Holds Elections Using Residents of Occupied Territories: Passports Handed Out Right Before "Voting" and Moldova Regrets "Polling Stations" in Transnistria
The UN General Assembly will also consider the issue of Ukraine's occupied territories.
The Russian Federation is holding elections to the State Duma, however in violation of international law it is using residents of the occupied territories of Ukraine and Moldova for this purpose.
About how residents of the so-called DPR and LPR are being handed Russian passports right before "polling stations" and how Moldova reacted to the opening of such "polling stations" in the so-called Transnistria.
Passports handed out right before voting
In Rostov Region, citizens of Ukraine who were brought from the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions were issued Russian passports right before voting.
The legitimacy of holding elections in this way is in question, since international law states that occupied territories, as well as their residents, may not be used for holding elections as if they were on the country's territory.
As Russian media report, on the first day of voting 400 passports were issued to residents of the so-called "DPR" and "LPR" right before they boarded a bus to Rostov Region for a "polling station".
In addition, everyone who "voted" in this way was apparently given packages of food and water from the trunk of the bus as a reward, and some "voters" said they did not even know the candidates.
"Voting" in the occupied part of Moldova
Moldova's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration expressed regret that the Russian side intends to open 27 polling stations on September 19 in the Russian-controlled pseudo-republic of "Transnistria", despite the objections of Moldovan authorities.
The ministry noted that opening polling stations in territory not controlled by Moldovan authorities does not comply with the principle of Moldova's territorial integrity.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration regrets that, despite the consistent position expressed by Moldovan authorities, the Russian side acted in a manner that does not correspond to the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity of Moldova and the bilateral legal framework," said a statement from the Moldovan Foreign Ministry.
In "Transnistria", four "polling stations" were opened on September 17. On September 18, the so-called "head of the region" Vadim Krasnoselsky voted at a polling station in Tiraspol. On September 19, 27 "polling stations" are planned to be opened in Transnistria.
UN General Assembly to consider the issue of Ukraine's occupied territories
As the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported on Twitter, the UN General Assembly has placed the issue of Ukraine's temporarily occupied territories on the agenda of its upcoming session.
"We welcome today's decision of the UN General Assembly to include an item on the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine on the agenda of the 76th session. We look forward to a substantive discussion of ways to hold Russia accountable for violating the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the UN Charter," said the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
The general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly will take place September 21-27.
Earlier, presidential press secretary Sergei Nikiforov reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to the United States on September 20, where he will take part in the UN General Assembly.
Zelensky will give a speech and hold a number of bilateral meetings with leaders of other states.
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