Iryna Gerashchenko called for the legitimacy of the Russian State Duma not to be recognized due to the war in Ukraine
Ukrainian People's Deputy Iryna Gerashchenko raised the issue of not recognizing the legitimacy of the Russian State Duma, which includes individuals who participated in the war against Ukraine. She made this statement during a meeting with Pia Kauma, President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
“During our delegation’s meeting with OSCE PA President Pia Kauma, I raised the issue of not recognizing the legitimacy of the Russian State Duma, which includes individuals who participated in the war against Ukraine,” Iryna Gerashchenko wrote.
According to the MP, during a session of the OSCE PA Committee on Migration, she emphasized that Russia is deliberately targeting Ukraine’s energy and critical infrastructure, posing a threat of new waves of forced displacement.
Iryna Gerashchenko also spoke during a meeting with representatives of the European People’s Party (EPP) about the intensification of Russian terror against Ukrainian cities and the killing of civilians.
“I called on my colleagues to oppose any initiatives to ease sanctions against Russia. Partners from Poland and Romania highlighted the increasingly frequent incidents involving Russian drones. Strengthening Ukraine’s air defense is an investment in Europe’s security,” the MP emphasized.
In addition, Iryna Gerashchenko held a meeting with the newly appointed members of the Hungarian delegation.
“We agreed to intensify interparliamentary dialogue,” she said.
During international meetings, the Ukrainian delegation raised issues regarding Russian aggression, the protection of civilians, maintaining sanctions pressure on Russia, and strengthening Ukraine’s air defense.
Geraschenko wrote about this on the social media platform X.
As a reminder, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has recognized the new composition of the Russian State Duma as illegitimate. Earlier, PACE also stated that the so-called elections to the Russian State Duma would not meet international democratic standards.
Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin claimed that “real democracy” exists in Russia and that the elections are supposedly characterized by transparency. He made these remarks during the first plenary session of the 9th convocation of parliament, attended by President-Dictator Vladimir Putin. At the same time, his statement came after the publication of independent assessments regarding the possible scale of fraud in the recent State Duma elections.
Nearly fifty war veterans will receive seats in the Russian State Duma.
The Russian State Duma has expanded the recruitment of convicts for the war against Ukraine.
