The Australian social media post that has infuriated Russia – as Moscow demands it is deleted

A social media post from the Australian embassy in Moscow has angered the Russian government, which called the country interfering in its internal affairs.

Russian authorities say they have summoned a diplomat from the Australian embassy in Moscow over a social media post criticizing the holding of Russian presidential elections in occupied parts of Ukraine.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that an Australian embassy post on the Telegram platform questioned “the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation” and “knowingly contained false information about the vote in a number of Russian regions during the Russian Federation election.” president’. March 15-17.

The diplomat was told that the online post was considered an interference in the country’s internal affairs, the Russian statement said, demanding that they remove the message and take measures to ensure that such incidents do not occur again occur.

A man is seen casting his vote during the presidential election in Donetsk, a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine on March 17

The Australian Embassy posted a Russian-language message on Telegram on March 19 stating that Australia “is aware that the Russian government has conducted sham elections in Ukrainian territories, reflecting its continued efforts to protect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of to undermine Ukraine’.

The post continued: “Australia rejects the outcome of these sham elections and once again calls on Russia to immediately withdraw from the internationally recognized territory of Ukraine.”

Russia’s presidential election, which election authorities said President Vladimir Putin won with more than 87 percent of the vote, was held in parts of Ukraine that Russia says it has annexed, including Crimea and parts of four regions it took over after the invasion of 2022 has taken.