The elections this weekend will be marred by a comprehensive crackdown on any opposition and independent media, the statement continued, while signatories added that they consider conducting elections in Ukraine's occupied territories in Crimea and in Donbass are wholly illegitimate and will not be recognized by the international community.

The statement read: "Amid the ongoing war, which has taken a heavy toll on Ukrainian lives and brought about vast human suffering and destruction, Russia is orchestrating a so-called 'election,' in a clear act of provocation to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the illegal annexation of Crimea."

The Crimean peninsula is almost cut off from the rest of Ukraine, joined solely by a relatively narrow isthmus. Russia has in the intervening 10 years of occupation managed to build a bridge across the Kerch strait to the east of the peninsula; that it occupied it at all in part derives from a long-held desire to maintain a warm-water port, compounded by the fact that the Russian navy had for many years rented facilities at the Ukrainian port city of Sevastopol.

Russia is also occupying Ukrainian land to the East of the Crimean peninsula, in Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts, to maintain a "land bridge" to Crimea, and to the North (Zaporizhzhia oblast) and West (Kherson oblast) as well.

As for the presidential election in Russia itself, the intention is "to extend these elections to the territories it has occupied and illegally annexed in Ukraine, in what appears to be an attempt to legitimize its temporary occupation of Ukrainian territory," the statement continued.

"We stand in solidarity with Ukraine, affirming its full independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its recognized international borders, including Crimea, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk," the statement goes on

The statement also denounces Russia's imperialistic actions, and its ongoing aggression against Ukraine more broadly, and reiterates the need for continued comprehensive support for Ukraine from the EU, its member states, and allies globally, that encompass political, economic, financial, and military aid, as well as assistance for civil society and the reconstruction of the country. "This support stands as a critical countermeasure against the Kremlin's oppressive and aggressive regime," the document reads.

The statement's authors note that since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has notably intensified its suppression of political dissent, and thereby throttled the freedom of media, and civil liberties, by further quashing any opposition, including by criminalizing expressions of any anti-war sentiment.

Prospective pro-peace/anti-war candidates are also being barred from participating in the elections, which will in any case be an automatic shoo-in for Vladimir Putin, now in office either as president or prime minister for nearly a quarter of a century.

"There is no longer any room for civic or political opposition in Russia. The Russian government, especially under Putin, is not held accountable for egregious violations of human rights and political repressions, including the assassination of leading opposition figure Alexei Navalny, questioning Putin's legitimacy in both domestic and international forums. Regardless of these despicable crimes, most Russian citizens continue to support Putin's regime and the illegal war of aggression against Ukraine," the statement continues.

Foreign affairs committee chairpersons say they believe that the forthcoming presidential elections in Russia will neither be free or fair, and will be marred by a comprehensive crackdown on the opposition and independent media.

They also see these suffering from a complete absence of legitimate alternatives and a lack of international oversight, that will render an outcome devoid of any semblance of democratic validity.

The statement stresses that conducting elections in Ukraine's temporarily occupied and illegally annexed regions is a stark breach of international law and the principles of the UN Charter, and Ukraine's inalienable independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. "We unequivocally reject the legitimacy of the elections being conducted by Russia in the occupied Ukrainian territories. Such actions by Russia on Ukraine's internationally recognized territory are entirely illegitimate, and will not be recognized by the international community."

In addition to Mihkelson on behalf of Estonia, the statement was signed by the foreign committee chairs or equivalents from Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Spain, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Voting in Russia runs March 15-17.

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