Ukraine has already said that any Russian vote in the Donetsk,
Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions will be null and void,
and that it will prosecute any observers sent to monitor voting.
Moscow's ability to hold the election in what it calls its "new
territories" is politically important for the Kremlin. But it
raises logistical and security challenges because Russian troops
only partly control the four regions.
The areas controlled by Moscow have been placed under martial
law. Russia's annexation claim last year, seven months after its
invasion of Ukraine, was rejected as illegal by Ukraine and most
countries at the United Nations General Assembly.
President Vladimir Putin confirmed last Friday, in comments to
Russian soldiers who have fought in Ukraine, that he will run
again for president in the March election, where he faces no
serious competition.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Gareth Jones)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
![](column_spacer.png)
|
|