Ukraine's foreign ministry condemned "sham elections" being staged by Russia in occupied Ukrainian territories on Friday, saying they were "worthless" and would have no legal standing.
Russia is holding regional elections, including in four Ukrainian regions that it does not fully control - Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
The ministry said in a statement that the elections taking place on Ukrainian territory "grossly violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine" as well as international law.
"Russia's sham elections in the temporarily occupied territories are null and void. They will not have any legal consequences and will not lead to a change in the status of the Ukrainian territories captured by the Russian army," it said.
Kyiv called on its international partners to denounce the votes and not to recognise the results.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday also described the voting in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine as "sham elections" and said they were "illegitimate".
The Russian embassy in the US responded by saying on Friday that Washington was meddling in Russia's internal affairs.
Judges at the top United Nations court ordered Israel on Friday to halt its military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, in a landmark emergency ruling on South Africa's case accusing Israel of genocide.
Twenty people who were aboard a Singapore Airlines flight that hit severe turbulence and diverted to Bangkok for an emergency landing on Tuesday remain in intensive care. Others are being treated for spinal cord and brain injuries.
A two-storey restaurant building collapsed on the beach in Palma de Mallorca killing at least four people and injuring 16 people in the tourism hot spot in Spain's Balearic Islands.
Israeli forces killed 35 Palestinians in aerial and ground bombardments across the Gaza Strip on Thursday and battled in close combat with Hamas in areas of the southern city of Rafah, health officials and Hamas media said.