US blasts contested elections in Ukraine

The United States issued a strong statement Monday condemning elections held by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine the previous day.

The Obama administration also warned Russia that there would be rising costs if it continued to act in ways that, to Washington’s eyes, threaten to destabilize Ukraine. 

“The United States condemns the illegitimate, so-called ‘elections’ held on Sunday by Russia-backed separatists in parts of Donetsk and Luhansk,” said National Security Council Spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan in a statement. 

{mosads}”As we have said previously, the United States will not recognize the authority of any individuals claiming to represent parts of Donetsk and Luhansk on the basis of this illegal vote,” she said. 

Meehan said the “sham elections” violate the Sept. 5 Minsk Protocol agreed to by Russia and its “separatist proxies” in Ukraine, who are engaged in an armed insurgency against Ukrainian forces. 

The statement also fired a rhetorical warning shot across Russian bows, after the foreign ministry in Moscow issued its own remarks seeking to legitimize the elections. 

“As we have said repeatedly, Russia has a choice. If it supports the peace process and adheres to its Minsk commitments, the costs for Russia’s destabilizing actions against Ukraine will lessen,” Meehan said. 

“Should Moscow continue to ignore the commitments that it made in Minsk and continue its destabilizing and dangerous actions, the costs to Russia will rise,” she said. 

State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said Monday that any elections would need to be conducted under the auspices of the central Ukrainian government. Local elections are set for December, under the Protocol. 

The separatists’ elections threaten to undo the ceasefire agreement reached by Ukraine and Russia. Hostilities between the two sides broke out after Russia annexed Crimea in March and began to support pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. 

The United States and the European Union have slapped several rounds of sanctions on Russian officials and businesses, but Moscow has responded with continued support for the separatists, as well as increased incursions into European airspace. 

NATO officials said Thursday they had detected and monitored four groups of Russian bombers and tankers conducting “significant” military maneuvers in European airspace. The “sizable” Russian air forces “represent an unusual level of air activity over European airspace,” they added. 

“My opinion is that they’re messaging us,” said Gen. Philip Breedlove, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander (Europe) at a Pentagon briefing Monday. “That they are a great power and that they have the ability to exert these kinds of influences in our thinking.”

Breedlove said there were seven Russian battalion task groups on the border of Ukraine, and about 250 to 300 Russian troops inside Ukraine. 

He also told a small group of reporters on Monday that the United States believes Russia is considering plans to put aircraft in Crimea, including some that may carry tactical nuclear weapons. But the Associated Press has reported that there are no indications this is happening yet. 

Meehan said the United States was also concerned by reports that drones operated by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to monitor the Russia-Ukraine border have come under attack in recent days. 

Psaki also said there were reports and images of dozens of unmarked military trucks in Eastern Ukraine carrying heavy weaponry and ammunition within the last several days. 

American officials, and others in the international community, believe Russia provided the rebels with the weapons that led to the shooting down of a civilian airliner in July, and the deaths of its 298 passengers.