Russia held 'local elections' in Crimea / Photo from UNIAN

The European Union does not recognize the so-called "local elections" in Russia-occupied Crimea, which were held on September 8.

"Local and regional elections were held in the Russian Federation on 8 September and in the Crimean peninsula. The European Union does not recognise the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation, and continues to condemn this violation of international law," Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Maja Kocijancic said in a statement on September 9.

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"Therefore, the European Union does not recognise the holding of elections in the Crimean peninsula," she said. "Anybody elected in the Crimean peninsula claiming to 'represent' the populations of Crimea and Sevastopol will not be recognised as representatives of those territories, which are Ukrainian."

The European Union remains unwavering in its support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, she added.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry called on international partners to give a principled assessment of the illegal actions by the Russian Federation, which organized and held the so-called "local elections" to illegal institutions created by the Russian occupying administration in Ukraine's Crimea and Sevastopol. "Results of this illegal voting are null and void, they will have no legal consequences whatsoever. Neither Ukraine nor the international community will recognize them. All those responsible for organization and conduct of the illegal voting in the temporarily occupied Crimea will be held accountable according to the Ukrainian legislation," it said.

*** On September 8, there was a single voting day in Russia, where more than 5,000 polls were held at various levels.