The Embassy took note of the hostile and provocative joint statement “on Russia’s sham elections in Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories” issued by Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the UK concerning the recent elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation, which were held, among other Russia’s territories, in Crimea, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. In this regard, we would like to recall that these territories are integral parts of the Russian Federation. If there is any “sham” here, it is the foreign attempt to question the free expression of the will of millions of people living there, who exercised their right to self-determination and joined Russia in response to years of policies pursued by the Kiev regime aimed at reviving and spreading neo-Nazi ideology and practices, exterminating its own citizens, as well as suppressing the Russian language, culture and historical identity. Against this backdrop, all the allegations and accusations levelled against Russia in the statement, including those concerning “aggression”, “occupation” and violations of Ukraine’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity”, are entirely unfounded. Moreover, the authors of the statement conveniently omit the fact that Ukrainian forces sought to disrupt the electoral process, including through attacks on Russian cities, both in the new regions and elsewhere, targeting polling stations and election-related infrastructure, destroying schools and killing innocent people. The five countries chose to lecture others on democracy and free elections while turning a blind eye to the situation in Ukraine itself. The Kiev regime continues to function without presidential or parliamentary elections having been held since 2019 – for more than seven years now. Democracy, indeed.