Ukraine to request sanctions for Russian voting held in Ukraine

The Ukrainian government said on Sept. 19 it will submit to its international partners lists of individuals subject to sanctions for organizing and participating in the Russian parliamentary elections on Sept. 18 that included four mandates for illegally annexed Crimea. The illegitimate election places the validity of the entire Russian parliament under doubt, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in its statement.

Zenon Zawada: Other than condemnations and threats, the Ukrainian government’s reaction to the elections has been rather impotent. Not only has it failed to cut diplomatic relations, but it hasn’t declared the eviction of any Russian diplomats. Instead it’s appealing to the West for more sanctions, which will not make any strong impression on the Russians. Whether the West will respond to the request is a question mark, but this episode further confirms that the government hasn’t mustered the nation’s resources – on various fronts, in the last two years – to combat Russian military aggression on its own strengths.