Ukraine declares Russian elections in occupied territories illegal

The Foreign Ministry's statement coincided with the start of a mission of observers from ex-Soviet states to monitor the election process and assess whether the procedures met accepted standards of being free and fair.

"Any vote organised by Russia on the sovereign territory of Ukraine is illegal and the results of such a vote are null and void and have no legal consequences," the ministry statement said. It added that the presence of international observers did not alter the illegality of the vote and suggested that Russia was "trying to use an international presence in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to legitimise the outcome."

The United Russia Party, backed by President Vladimir Putin, and other broadly pro-Kremlin parties are almost certain to retain their dominance of parliament after the September vote. The leader of Russia's only registered party opposing the war, Yabloko, stated on Thursday that he would remain in the country and continue to push for change, despite pressure from the authorities that led to the party's exclusion from the election this week.