at least they are trying to give the appearance of legitimacy. the illegal election process itself in the occupied territories was divided into three stages - says mykhailo samikin, adviser to the head of the zaporizhia region. first of all , the russian military was involved in the voting. the polling stations were deployed right at the military positions. a member of the inter-election commissions at the front - semikin adds, the russian military themselves spoke. the second stage is a preliminary vote for people with reduced mobility and those who live in hard-to-reach and front-line cities, the third is the main stage presidential elections of russia, which will take place from march 15 to 17, 2024. the dates of preliminary voting in the occupied territories differed. this is how it started in the kherson region. february 27, and

ended on march 3. over the course of a week, field commissions, accompanied by russian military personnel , visited local houses and conducted voting. mobile stations were set up right on the streets. serhii nikytenko called street voting strange and emphasized that it was accompanied by dances and picnics. analyzing photos and videos that appeared on social networks, participated in voting. mostly older people, the russian-controlled administration in the occupied part of the zaporizhia region began holding illegal early voting on february 25. any documents, including driver's licenses, were accepted for voting - says mykhailo samikin, advisor to the head of the zaporizhzhia region. their task is to get as many people as possible to vote for putin. we also record such a fact, when bedridden

patients were initially brought to forcefully to hand over a russian passport, after that they came with such demands, recommendations to put a tick in the right place. and in occupied donetsk, they have been voting since march 10. despite the occupation since 2014, russian presidential elections are being held there for the first time... firstly, the very preparation for voting in donetsk region, as in other occupied regions, also began earlier, rfe/rl's anonymous sources inform. in february, the members of the election commissions went around the houses, they were true without soldiers and without weapons, they have all the necessary information, they they know who is registered where, they ask where these people are now, in february they just asked, but now they have already started walking with boxes. in addition to the raid on the apartments and houses of locals in donetsk and... they also

set up polling stations in the open air, and people even vote in the yard on a bench. we are glad that we became part of russia, and now we are russians with all rights. i can show you a passport, that's why we vote for the president, because we want peace, prosperity, the main thing is that everything is good, the main thing is that there is peace and water. street elections were also held in occupied mariupol, also with songs and dances. corresponding campaign actions took place, illegal elections started in the occupied luhansk region on march 11, said the head of the luhansk regional military administration, artem lysogohor. in exchange for votes, residents of the occupied luhansk region are promised dry rations, state employees were given the task of taking pictures at polling stations with their families, as in other occupied regions, commission representatives. together with armed

soldiers, they went to houses and collected people's votes. evdaki romanovna, we came to to you to vote. take your time, everything is fine. in luhansk region, this year's illegal elections were marked by increased security. ukrainian military officer artem karyakin, who was in occupied stakhanov until 2021, told rfe/rl about this. for its sources. in the city, every polling station is guarded by rosguard forces, i think, i think they started preparing two or three months ago. what was the preparation? the commission from russia sent documents to the occupying authorities of the luhansk region, where they asked to ensure full security, that is, they monitored the installation of video cameras around the polling stations and ensuring security around these stations. they were very afraid of some terrorist attacks and other provocative actions. previously , the occupation authorities

announced a turnout of more than 50% in the illegal... elections. ukraine does not recognize these elections - stated the secretary of the national security and defense council oleksiy danilov, and the verkhovna rada approved. an appeal to foreign governments and parliaments to condemn russia's holding of illegal elections in the temporarily occupied territories of ukraine. anastasia potapenko, radio liberty. well, the vice prime minister, head of the ministry of reintegration of the occupied territories, iryna vereshchuk, today called on the residents of the occupied territories not to participate in illegal elections and advised them to avoid the elections by all means, but how realistic it is, being there, is a big question, as i noted earlier. the representative of the verkhovna rada on human rights, dmytro lubinets, participation in these illegal elections, well, for many it is a matter of survival in the occupation. olga avazovska, head of the board of the civil network opora, joins our broadcast. olga, good evening. i congratulate you. you spent many years in ukraine studying elections,

recording them, and analyzing them. when you saw this material, how do you feel? well, i have this general feeling of disgust, of course, it is connected with the fact that... the federation as a whole imitates the electoral process, imitates electoral democracy throughout the territory, but unfortunately, this misfortune is coming to more and more territories of the independent state ukraine, and in my opinion, today we should not talk about the issue of compliance with any procedures, rules, compliance with the standards, because it is absurd as such, i believe that the verkhovna rada of ukraine. together with the leaders of the democratic world as a whole, have and have a reason not to recognize the election of the president of the russian federation, in general, because this person is already related to in its interests, the constitution was changed twice. first

, i want to remind you that the term of office of the president of the russian federation was extended from four to six years in order to narrow the window in principle of electoral cycles in the russian federation, and later in the 20th year... another change was made in it is in the interests of one person to have his terms reset to zero, this is the first presidential election, the so-called election, that takes place after these changes to the constitution, and in fact putin is going for two new terms that will end in the 36th year, this person will occupy a post of 40 years in total, if we also take into account that gap, a short pause, when he formally headed the russian federation. president medvedev, but in fact we understand that it was the same system, the same person who made decisions, there is no democracy in the russian federation, but unfortunately, they extend their practices to the occupied territories as well, in a way that, with goals that have the characteristics of war crimes, it is clear

that the consequences of even a population census or a round of apartments, houses during this early voting, will be very difficult for the civilian population, therefore even if the level of loyalty was measured, lists would still be drawn up with data on who is staying where, who has left these territories, it is clear that there cannot be a single 50% turnout there, in principle, because a large part of the settlements that are closer to the contact line today, but are under shelling , part of the citizens are leaving, and therefore this... absurdity, unfortunately, is spreading on the territory of ukraine, but we are forced to state this fact and spread the truth about these processes. olga, look, you said at the beginning of our conversation that in principle, in general, ukraine should not recognize these elections in russia, in general, there was a statement yesterday by the secretary of the nsdc

danilov that ukraine does not recognize these elections, but what about me, well just danilov's statement is not enough, who and what should be done now, in what time frame? and... is it possible that ukraine should have done this before the elections began? well, actually, i was hoping for a tougher statement from the verkhovna rada of ukraine, which was adopted yesterday, again, an appeal to the parliaments of the world, but it was focused on the process in the temporarily occupied territories of ukraine. i want to emphasize once again that legitimacy is a political concept in a certain way, and the person who seized power in the russian federation, destroyed opponents, destroyed mass media. as such made changes to the constitution in their own interests because of so the so-called referendum, which was also held in the occupied territories at that time in the 20th year, she essentially usurped power, and if after this process, for the first time, after the expiration of the terms, the world will recognize

vladimir putin as president, then obviously we are all in and crossing the red line of acceptability of such events, because russia is formally located in the osce region, which means that it also accepts certain standards, it has not left the osce organization, the holding of elections, and there are requirements, such as the venice commission and... as well as the osce, to even the issue of the number of nomination terms is a prerequisite for free and fair elections, because competition is impossible if a person is running for office for the sixth time, there are only four names on the ballot, the main opponents, even moral ones, have been killed or are in prison or on the territory of the russian federation, we further recognize the legitimacy of this president, should be called so, and perhaps after this action. will end, ukraine does not publicly recognize, it is worth hoping for it, you see signs that this will happen, or ukraine will not

do this? i see by all signs that ukraine will not do this publicly, so why do you have an understanding, why, why? i think that there is still some window for communication with the russian federation, with official officials, you understand that not recognizing the legitimacy of the president, at least naming him. this is a new legal reality, i.e. after it, the question is whether , for example, the representative of the russian federation in the un security council, who is appointed, again, by the president of the russian federation, is legitimate, then whether he has the right to vote of the russian federation in the un security council, and if ukraine accepts these consequences, it will begin to take the lead in the topic of devaluation of the legitimacy factor of the president of the russian federation after. voting, because it cannot be called an election, if the leaders of the western world

do not conditionally congratulate putin, the newly elected president, because the elections there are not free, are not fair, do not have any signs of an electoral full-fledged political cycle, then the question arises whether this is legitimate person to sign agreements, negotiate, represent a party, and whether those who are legitimate does he refer to these events? circumstances or in different institutions, so diplomacy here in a certain way wins over a more radical position, but i think that one way or another we have to state the fact: vladimir putin seized power, both in the occupied territories and in his own state, and will remain in this position for a very long time many years, we have very little time, but i have another important question, you... you said that the consequences for the civilian population in the occupation would be very severe, explain to me

if it is possible, i think, but it looks like that the ukrainian authorities have a rather different rhetoric towards the people under occupation. veryshchuk says: don’t go to the elections, avoid in all possible ways, lubinets hints that after all, human life is above all else, if your life is at stake, go vote, but the organizers will be prosecuted by the law, have you researched this issue and can you now state that in ukrainian. the authorities have one voice to the people in the occupation against the background of these elections, we have a literal minute, if possible, i think that these are not controversial positions, because from the point of view human rights, human life is the highest right and the highest value, accordingly, no one can suggest to a person to take actions that will harm his life as such, but about what ms. veroshchuk says, well, this is also a certain position, you can, i don’t i know, pretend to be sick. and not to open the door, to take those actions that will not force you to take

responsibility for the leadership of the russian federation and the kremlin until the 36th year, this is a fact, until the 36th year. i thank you very much. olga aivazovska, head of the board of the opora civic network. we talked about illegal elections in the occupation and about the prospects of non-recognition of the russian presidential elections, elections by ukraine and the world. thank you very much. that's all for today, i urge you to subscribe to radio liberty's page on the internet, like this broadcast, in this way you will support us very much, and wishes, remarks, comments, questions are always welcome in the chat under this video. goodbye. there are 15% discounts on bronchulitin phyto in

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united by football, stronger together. an unusual look at the news. good health, ladies and gentlemen, my name is mykola. sharp presentation of facts and competent opinions. and in america they also say, let's have better roads, we will have even better ones. a special look at events in ukraine and beyond. what a world you dream of, mr. norman. all this in an informational marathon with mykola in september saturday 17:10, sunday 18:15 at espresso. every week, the saturday political club helps to understand the processes taking place in ukraine and the world. vitaly portnyk. khrystyna yatskiv and invited experts give their assessment and forecast of the development of events based on facts. if you want to understand how our today will affect our tomorrow, watch the saturday politics club, every saturday on espresso. the premium sponsor of the national team

represents. united by football, stronger together. congratulations, parents, do you know how to act, if god forbid, you are lost child in a crowded city, for example, on the street or in a shopping center, and do you explain to your child what to do in such a situation? as the long-term experience of the children's search service shows. magnolia, unfortunately, not everyone knows these seemingly simple rules. yes, the other day a five-year-old girl got lost in one of the supermarkets in lviv. the police were called by concerned people who reported seeing a confused young child without an adult. the patrolmen immediately arrived at the scene and first of all tried to calm the frightened girl, who said that

her name is sofiyka, and she got lost, but she did not remember the address where she lives. let's... let's see how it was, hello, come on, let's give five, my name is oleg, what's your name, go, and you know the way home, kitz, what , let's go to the car, let's get into our car, let's go, go, here, nothing, well done, well done, i'm a patrol policeman, now we'll find your mom and dad, fine, but we have to wait a little bit, what cartoons are you watching, what are you watching , turn it on while we're waiting for this one, so that you didn't jump, what are you looking at? you have it on youtube to use a cartoon there, as it is called, while little sofiyka was watching cartoons on the phone of one of the patrolmen, they looked for her parents, had a preventive conversation with them, but the main thing is that everything ended with a happy ending. in general, this story once again proves that a child

can get lost at any time and anywhere and for completely different reasons, but unfortunately, not all parents and children know what to do in such a situation, so here are some important advice: if the child is very small, put it in his pocket a note with your phone number or other contact information. if you are older than three years, be sure to learn your mobile number together, explaining where, when and to whom it can be reported. also learn the home address with the child, this is important. explain to your child that if he is lost where there are many people, he should stand still and wait until... turn around, and the child should also find among the people adults with a child or an elderly woman and say that he is lost, but at the same time in no case you can't go anywhere with adults who offer to take her somewhere another place and the most important thing for the parents themselves is not to panic. remember where the child was last seen. if she has a phone, call,

ask someone you know or a relative to stay in case the child returns. by. opportunities to make announcements through loudspeakers. if you cannot find the child immediately, contact the police immediately, provide a photo and all necessary information about the child. also, contact our hotline at number 11630. our consultants will promptly and in detail step by step tell you how to act and what to do first of all in such a situation. of course, god forbid that you never need our number, but just in case, remember or write it down. 16:30 hotline of the child tracing service. calls from all mobile operators in ukraine are free. and another very important moment, when the child is found, do not scold him in any case. the child didn't... didn't want to get lost, she, like you, experienced a lot of stress, you need to show her your love and care in this state. and once again, i emphasize

that the child's disappearance must be reported immediately, without delay. in another story, about which i will now briefly tell, it was the immediate reaction of the parents that helped to quickly find their son. this is ten-year-old artem from the city of vyshneve in the kyiv region. his mother contacted him to report that the boy had disappeared. she said that at 7:30 p.m., her son went to throw out the garbage, but did not return home. fortunately, it was possible to find artem very quickly, within an hour and a half, after the appeal, the police found the boy and returned him home. and finally, as usual, i ask you to go to the website of the child tracing service. look carefully at the faces of these boys and girls, and if you recognize any of them, immediately report to our hotline at the number " 1163 calls from all mobile operators in ukraine are free.

congratulations, the ukrainian program is on the air. voice of america chas time, me and host oleksii kovalenko. at least 20 people were killed and 70 injured in odesa as a result of a russian missile attack. the international media is writing about the double-strike tactics that russia is using in the war against the civilian population of ukraine. this is one of the most massive attacks by russia in recent weeks. us ambassador to ukraine bridget bring, in response to these attacks, urged not to waste a single moment in providing aid to ukraine. white house communications advisor. in the field of national security , john kirby said that if congress passes additional funding for ukraine, it will provide an opportunity to provide ukraine

with additional air defenses to protect itself from russian attacks. us president joe biden, meanwhile, called on congress to immediately pass a bill that provides funding for ukraine. biden too urged us lawmakers to stand up to russian president vladimir putin, whom the us president has called a thug. i am convinced that the vast majority, the vast majority of members of congress are ready to do their part, i continue to call on every member in this room to stand up to vladimir putin, he is a thug. i urge you to care. send me the national security bill, the bill includes funding for ukraine and israel, and maybe just as important humanitarian aid for gaza, they are very, very necessary,

and it sends a clear signal, america stands for freedom, and we bow to no one, no one in the world. the leaders of france, germany and poland met today in berlin. one of the leading topics of the meeting is the issue of the russian war against ukraine. ahead. in a special interview with a leading french tv channel on march 14 , french president emmanuel macron repeated that russia's war against ukraine is a threat to europe and the whole world, and therefore, according to him, europeans should increase aid to ukrainians and strengthen their defense capabilities. let 's talk about the expectations from the meeting and the positions of the parties with our european correspondent bohdan tsyupani, who joins us from london. congratulations bohdan. bohdan, can you tell me which ones? what can be expected from this meeting in the practical plane and in general how important is the format of such a meeting? first about

the format, france, germany and poland call this format the weimar triangle. it unites these three, in fact, if not the largest, then at least the leading, one of the leading countries of the european continent, which concerns expectations, hopes, it was stated today that one of such practical steps is, for example, confirmation of the agreement of these countries that their funds, funds of the european union, will be used for the purchase of ammunition for ukraine, anywhere in the world, not while waiting for production to build up in europe itself, which is very encouraging, in particular. the french have also confirmed their intention to create joint production, joint contracts for the production of weapons in ukraine, so these are

things that can be called... concrete, although in general, the most obvious is the confirmation of the unity of these leading european countries, confirmation of their common vision that russia should be opposed and ukraine should be helped. bohdan, and actually, about unity, some of president macron's statements show a difference of opinion with germany in support of ukraine. but today, as you said, the leaders emphasized unity. how much of this unity is there really? yes, polish prime minister donald tusk even joked, he said that you see, they say, today that rumors or statements about the differences between our european capitals are greatly exaggerated, but despite this , in the statements and statements of the leaders of these three countries, there are certain nuances that, in the end, are probably normal, and are probably wrong. skilfully, but

still against the background of firmness, rigidity, for example, of macron and also of poland, listen here, for example, to such softer, for example, remarks that still sound , from mr. scholz, the chancellor of germany. we are united on the side of ukraine, we have clearly stated this from the very beginning, and it is true, as long as it takes, now it is clear that... that we support ukraine and it is also clear that we ourselves are not at war with russia. our common goal is and remains to provide effective protection of ukraine against russian aggression. bohdan, and we have one question left, very short, literally one minute. these powerful statements of france in support of ukraine, do they mean that france is beginning to rethink its strategy towards ukraine. it's clear that the... brainstorming

continues, statements from paris are coming out much firmer, or at least it looks like macron, france is concerned about the situation so much that emmanuel macron considers it necessary now to toughen this rhetoric, so to speak, and use the so-called strategic tactics in relation to russia to deter it. strategic uncertainty or strategic duplicity or ambiguity in order to deter moscow from its worst intentions. bohdan, thank you very much, our european correspondent bohdan tsyupin was in direct contact with us. at the un, 56 states, in particular the usa, supported the statement of ukraine, in which they strongly condemned the illegitimate attempts of the russian federation to organize presidential elections of russia in the temporarily occupied territories

of the international community. recognized territory of ukraine. the participants of the statement confirmed that the elections are not valid according to international law. adviser to the white house on matters of communication in the field of national security, john kirby, during a briefing on friday, stated that fair and free elections are impossible in russia. the west should categorically not recognize and fully condemn the voting in the russian presidential elections in the temporarily occupied territories of ukraine, which are taking place on march 15-17. the eurasian director said this in an interview with natalia leonova programs of the international republican institute, steve nix, who has just returned from ukraine. do you know who will observe the elections, who are these invited observers? as you pointed out, it will not be the osce or their office of democratic institutions and human rights, or

any international organization. which is credible, it will be kremlin-friendly individuals from foreign countries who receive money for their trips and publish bright announcements about how well these elections were organized, how free, how open, how they were transparent. we all know that's not true. turnout, that's what the kremlin is focusing on now. they know they can get a predetermined result, whether it's 80-85 or 90%. they have. opportunities to do so, but they want images of large numbers of people taking to the streets of cities across the country to vote for the president, and they're using new technology to do that. there are several examples: employees of large factories, 3-5 thousand workers. all of them receive instructions to go to their polling stations in election day, and then click a link on your phone that will allow you to locate them, which...