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Russia presses charges against Ukraine’s interior minister for blocking presidential vote

The Russian Investigative Committee has launched a criminal case against Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov

Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov Zurab Dzhavakhadze/TASS

Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov

© Zurab Dzhavakhadze/TASS

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Kiev barred Russians from voting on Ukrainian soil out of fear, says lower house speaker

MOSCOW, April 3. /TASS/. The Russian Investigative Committee has launched a criminal case against Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov over obstructing individuals from exercising their right to vote during the Russian presidential election at diplomatic missions, Russian Investigative Committee Spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko reported.

"According to investigators, Avakov ordered Ukrainian Interior Ministry employees who guarded Russian diplomatic facilities in Kiev, Lvov, Odessa and Kharkov to block access to polling stations for Russian citizens wishing to take part in the presidential election," Petrenko reported.

"The legal rights and interests of citizens guaranteed by the Russian Constitution were crudely violated as a result of Avakov and other people’s criminal actions. The provisions of Article 12 of the Russian Criminal Code authorize the Investigative Committee to hold foreign citizens who committed crimes beyond Russia criminally responsible under Russian law, if they were directed against the interests of Russia or our country’s citizens," the Investigative Committee spokeswoman noted.

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