12 May 2021, Wednesday, 17:48 126

Foreign Ministry Protests Against ‘Pre-Election’ Visit To Non-Government-Controlled Donbas By United Russia Party’s Leadership

Даша Зубкова

The Foreign Affairs Ministry has protested against the "pre-election" visit to the non-government-controlled territories in the Donbas by the leadership of Russia’s United Russia party.

This is stated in comments on the website of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Ukrainian News Agency reports.

"The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its protest in connection with the unapproved visit to the territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation in Donetsk and Luhansk regions by the United Russia party’s leadership and parliamentarians," the ministry said.

Ukraine views the Russian parliamentarians’ trip to these territories as an element of the election campaign ahead of the elections to Russia’s State Duma, which are scheduled to be held in September.

"The trip vividly illustrates the decline in support for United Russia among the Russian population, for which the ruling party of the Russian Federation is now trying to compensate by attracting residents of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine," the ministry said.

According to the ministry, participation of Ukrainian citizens, on whom Russian passports have been imposed by the occupation administration, in the Russian Federation’s State Duma election will call the legitimacy of the elections into question.

In addition, according to the ministry, such actions by the Russian side undermine political and diplomatic efforts and run counter to the Russian Federation’s obligations within the framework of the "Minsk Agreements" and the agreements reached by the leaders of the "Normandy Format" (Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France).

The Foreign Affairs Ministry called on Ukrainian citizens living in the non-government-controlled territories in Donetsk and Luhansk regions not to participate in illegal Russian plebiscites.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the Foreign Affairs Ministry stated in March that the Russian Federation's intention to open a representative office of the “Fair Russia – For Truth party in the non-government-controlled territories in the Donbass represented an escalation of the situation by Russia.