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Why the 11 November 2018 votes drew rejection
Summary
A look back at the international response to the elections held in Russian-backed separatist areas of eastern Ukraine, as of 16 November 2018.
What was the West's verdict on the elections held in the self-declared DNR and LNR, as things stood on 16 November 2018? Five days after the 11 November vote, the answer was consistent: the polls were not accepted.
According to reports from the time, the European Union, the United States and Japan said that holding the elections violated the Minsk agreements. Germany and France went further, calling the votes illegal. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry stressed that Kyiv would not recognise the elections.
What the reaction showed
The wording matters. The objections were framed around the Minsk agreements, the settlement framework that Western governments and Kyiv invoked in their statements. Two of the countries named, Germany and France, used the term illegal, while the EU, the US and Japan spoke of a violation of the agreements.
For Kyiv, the position was straightforward: non-recognition. The alignment between Ukraine and its partners meant that the vote gained no endorsement in these capitals or in the Ukrainian foreign ministry's public line.
The same week's news also carried lighter fare. On 10 November 2018, Oleksandr Usyk knocked out Tony Bellew to defend his title as undisputed world champion.
