You're reading: Kyiv says any participation in electoral process in occupied Crimea is illegal

The Foreign Affairs Ministry of Ukraine has stresses that any participation in the electoral process in the territory of Crimea occupied by Russia is illegal.

“We constantly emphasize that Crimea is Ukraine. We address all international organizations and partners with a clear signal: any participation in the voting process in Crimea is illegal,” Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Vasyl Bodnar said at a briefing in Kyiv on Friday.

The deputy minister also stressed that observers, public activists or politicians who visit the occupied Crimea to participate in election observation will be later banned from entering Ukraine and fall under appropriate international sanctions.

He added that the Foreign Ministry will respond appropriately to any initiatives to hold elections in the occupied territory of the Crimea.