The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has confirmed that elections cannot be held under martial law in Ukraine and called for continued support for the country to ensure a safe and inclusive vote for all Ukrainians as soon as conditions allow, Ukrinform reported.
This is stated in the resolution "Elections in times of crisis", supported today at the PACE session in Strasbourg by 100 delegates and 6 abstentions, the Ukrainian agency notes.
"The Assembly confirms that, according to international democratic standards, elections cannot be held under martial law", the text states, the authors of which refer to previous PACE resolutions.
Among the most serious challenges to the rights, freedoms and functioning of democratic institutions, PACE highlights Russia’s full-scale war.
"Crises and the necessary state responses can have profound consequences for rights and freedoms, as well as for the functioning of democratic institutions. The COVID-19 pandemic, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and, most seriously, Russia’s full-scale aggressive war against Ukraine have put extraordinary pressure on Council of Europe member states, requiring extraordinary measures to maintain democratic processes," the document says.
The Assembly notes that electoral processes are increasingly taking place in "a persistent environment of risk and vulnerability" due to polarisation, disinformation, foreign interference, cyberattacks and the aftermath of conflicts. In this regard, PACE calls on member states to update electoral legislation, ensure transparency in decision-making on possible postponement of elections, strengthen cyber defense and develop strategies to counter disinformation.
PACE also insists on an urgent review of approaches to national security and election protection in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine and hybrid threats against Council of Europe member states.
At the same time, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe calls for support to countries affected by protracted conflicts or emergencies, with particular attention to Ukraine, in order to ensure the holding of "secure, inclusive and credible elections, held in accordance with European and international standards, as soon as conditions allow".
As Ukrinform reported, the Central Election Commission proposes to establish a six-month preparatory or transitional period after the end of the martial law and before the start of the election process.
Explosions echo in Odessa, the city is being attacked by drones from the Black Sea, local channels in "Telegram" report.
Over 20 drones are moving from the sea towards all areas of the city.
The sirens were activated at 23:25.
The regional authorities are calling on residents to take shelter in bomb shelters.
The Bulgarians in the Odessa region number over 150,000 people and are the third largest according to the latest official census in Ukraine. In the city of Odessa itself, about 50-60 thousand Bulgarians live. The largest compact Bulgarian population is concentrated in the Bolgradsky, Izmailsky and Belgorod-Dniester regions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Piskaryovsky Memorial Cemetery in St. Petersburg, where he was welcomed by the city's governor, Alexander Beglov.
In memory of the victims of the blockade of Leningrad, Putin laid a wreath at the "Motherland" monument, TASS reported.
After laying a wreath at the foot of the monument, the president bowed his head for a moment in a sign of grief for the residents and defenders of the city. Then, in memory of all who fell victim to the blockade of the city that was not conquered by the Nazis, a minute of silence was declared.
On the way to the monument along the 300-meter alley from the Eternal Flame, the president traditionally laid flowers in front of one of the fraternal mounds, where his own brother Viktor, who died in the blockaded Leningrad at a young age in the winter of 1942, is buried.
The Piskarevsky cemetery is considered the largest cemetery from the period of World War II. During the blockade, it was located on the northern outskirts of Leningrad, and mass burials were held there during the first and harshest winter of the blockade. About 420 thousand residents of Leningrad who died from hunger, cold, disease, bombing and artillery fire, as well as 70 thousand soldiers who defended the city, are buried here.
In 1960, the "Motherland" memorial was created here, designed by Leningrad architects Alexander Vasiliev and Yevgeny Levinson, and the Eternal Flame was lit, and in 2000, the Alley of Memory was created, dedicated to the defenders of Leningrad and those who worked in the besieged city, maintaining its viability.
This year marks the 82nd anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the then fascist blockade, which lasted 872 days and claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of city residents. Historians still cannot indicate the exact number of victims - estimates range from 500 thousand to 1.5 million people. The blockade lasted from September 8, 1941 to January 27, 1944, TASS notes.