James Cleverly, the UK's Foreign Secretary, has announced fresh sanctions in response to Russia's organized pseudo-elections in the occupied territories of Ukraine. Eleven new individuals will be added to the UK's sanctions list in light of Russia's attempts to use fake "elections" to legitimize its illegal control over Ukraine's Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk regions, and Crimea, all of which are part of Ukraine's sovereign territory.
The list includes organizations and Russian high-ranking officials who have directly worked to undermine Ukraine and threaten its territorial integrity. Among them are the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Russia, a state body that organized the fake elections and referendums in illegally controlled parts of Ukraine; Natalya Budarina, Secretary of the CEC and one of the highest-ranking officials in the Central Election Commission; Andrei Aleksyenko, head of the so-called Kherson Regional Administration; and Marina Zakharova, head of the so-called Election Commission in Kherson.
"The UK will never recognize Russia's claims to Ukrainian territory – Crimea, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson are Ukraine," stated Cleverly.
