Russia ended the pseudo-elections in the occupied territories of Ukraine. The Council of Europe called them worthless

Today was the last day of so-called local elections in Russia and its occupied territories of Ukraine. The occupation administrations held pseudo-elections in the captured territories of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Russian media report low turnout in Ukrainian territories, and in the Zaporizhzhia region, a drone even "attacked one of the polling stations." The occupiers did not name the exact location of the hit.

Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of occupied Melitopol, said that the pseudo-election scenario predicts the result of 89% of votes for candidates from Putinʼs United Russia party. Some precincts have allegedly already "counted" almost 60% of the ballots where representatives of this party win.

The Council of Europe condemned these pseudo-elections, called them a violation of international law, and their legal status was null and void.

"Held in flagrant violation of international law, they consitute a further illustration of the denial by the Russian Federation of the values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law upheld by the Council of Europe. These sham “elections” can only be considered as null and void under international law," the statement emphasized. It also once again expresses "unwavering support for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its international recognised borders".

• Earlier, Kyiv condemned the holding of so-called "elections" by the Russian occupation authorities. Berlin called this "voting" a propaganda action by Moscow, and Washington assured Ukraine that the US would never recognize Russiaʼs territorial claims.