You're reading: Ukraine, Russia clash over upcoming Duma elections

As elections to Russian parliament, Duma, approach, Ukraine says it will not allow Russian polling stations on its territory - even if they are placed in the diplomatic establishments.

Both countries have exchanged unfriendly statements on Sept. 10. “The President (of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko) instructed the foreign minister (Pavlo Klimkin) to inform Moscow about the inability of Russian elections in Ukraine,” Poroshenko’s spokesperson, Svyatoslav Tsegolko, wrote on Twitter on Sept. 10.

Russia holds the elections on Sept. 18. It plans to open polling stations in Russian consulates and embassy in Ukraine, for the Russians living in Ukraine to vote.

In 2014, some 150,000 Russian citizens were living in Ukraine according to official data.

But Ukrainian government isn’t going to allow the Russian polling stations to open in Ukraine. The reason is, Russian authorities also plan to hold the elections in the annexed Crimea.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleksiy Makeev told Interfax news agency on Sept. 10 that Russia violates the international law holding the elections in Crimea, therefore the elections in the Russian embassies and consulates in Ukraine are impossible.

Ukraine’s parliament Verkhovna Rada voted on Sept. 8 for a resolution urging other states, assemblies and international organizations to declare the elections in Crimea illegal.

Ukrainian parliament also urges Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation not to accept deputies whose election was linked to the voting in Crimea.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitriy Peskov said on the same day that Russia won’t take into account Ukraine’s stance on election in Crimea, because “Crimea is a Russian territory now.”

Earlier the head of early parliamentary elections mission of OSCE Jan Petersen said in a comment to Interfax news agency on Aug. 15 that the mission wouldn’t observe Russian parliamentary elections in Crimea.

Ukraine also urged the citizens of Crimea to not take part in the elections.

Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced People published a statement on Aug. 25 reading, “(Election) procedure on temporarily occupied territory of the peninsula is illegitimate and will not be recognized by the international community.”

The Ministry stated that the members of the parties, election commissions and observers will violate both Ukrainian and international laws by their participation in the elections.

Meanwhile, human rights organizations report that Russian authorities force Crimeans to participate in the elections.

Head of the Crimean Human Rights Group Olga Skrypnyk told Channel 112 on Sept. 11 that her organization received several complaints from people who were threatened to be fired from their jobs or have their wages cut if they won’t participate in the Sept. 18 elections.