"I am concerned about the situation in Ukraine, which will hold an election on Sunday. Today is a day of campaign silence, but our colleagues – rights activists and experts – have alarmed us with information on plots of ballot stuffing and manipulations involving voters’ personal details", Slutsky wrote on Telegram.
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The Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday that Moscow abandoned its intention to send observers to the Ukrainian presidential election within the OSCE mission so as to not subject them to the threat of persecution. The decision came after Kiev refused to accredit 24 Russian citizens as members of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) mission monitoring the presidential election in Ukraine. Ukraine has also barred the Commonwealth of Independent States mission from monitoring their election.
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Ukrainians will go to the polls Sunday to elect a new president. Incumbent Petro Poroshenko will be fending off 38 challengers.
The current leader is running neck-and-neck with ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, while comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy is leading the race as the current favorite. A runoff is expected on April 21 if nobody wins a simple majority.
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