Zelensky says EU should sanction all participants of illegal Russian elections in Crimea

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky during the Ukraine-EU Summit, 12 October 2021

All persons involved in the organization or directly participating in the elections to the State Duma of Russia in occupied Crimea and Donbas should be included in the sanctions lists of the European Union, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky says.

His statements came at a briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday, following the 23rd summit Ukraine-EU.

"The sanctions lists should include everyone who took part in the organization and conduct of elections to the State Duma of Russia in the occupied Crimea, the city of Sevastopol and the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine in Donbas," Zelensky said.

He insisted that the need to increase the sanctions pressure is long overdue.

According to him, violations of human rights in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine cannot be ignored.