This archive report was first published on 2 July 2019.
On July 2, 2019, Ukraine's parliament speaker Andriy Parubiy signed a letter to PACE president Liliane Maury-Pasquier, stating that Russian monitors were no longer welcome at the parliamentary elections scheduled for July 21.
The decision comes after Russia's return to the pan-European rights body, PACE, was approved by a vote of 116 in favor to 62 against, despite strong objections from Ukraine.
Ukrainian parliament speaker Andriy Parubiy wrote on his Facebook page, "Representatives of an aggressor country, Russia, cannot be among international observers; they will be agents of a hybrid war rather than observers."
Parubiy also stated, "Any influence by Russia on Ukrainian elections, by any means, is not acceptable."
Ukraine's snap parliamentary polls were called by President Volodymyr Zelensky in a move aimed at replacing lawmakers who he says no longer enjoy public support.
The Council of Europe confirmed that Russia paid its participant contribution of 33 million euros for the year 2019, despite being stripped of its voting rights in 2014.
