The EU condemned the “illegal” annexation elections that Russia held in territories of occupied Ukraine. Canada announced it would enact further sanctions in response to Russia’s “fake” referendums.
The European Union on Wednesday criticized the “illegal” annexation votes Russia held in four occupied regions of Ukraine and their “falsified” results, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
“EU denounces holding of illegal ‘referenda’ and their falsified outcome,” Borrell wrote on Twitter.
“This is another violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, amidst systematic abuses of human rights,” he said.
Meanwhile, European Council President Charles Michel also tweeted: “Sham referenda. Sham results. We recognize neither.”
On Tuesday, the EU spokesman Peter Stano announced the bloc would slap sanctions on organizers of the “illegal” vote.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the EU has implemented six rounds of sanctions targeting Russian individuals, entities, good exports, and technology and banking as well as an embargo on most Russian oil and coal exports.