Ukrainian officials have warned that residents in territories occupied by Russia are being “held at gunpoint” and forced to vote in parliamentary elections that they say bear no resemblance to democracy. The Ukrainian foreign ministry called the vote a farce orchestrated by the occupying state and stated that it establishes no legal ground for extending Russian jurisdiction to any part of Ukraine.
The elections will take place over the next three days and will see 111 million voters head to the polls for Russia’s first parliamentary election since the full‑scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The ballot will include the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and the annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Ukraine rejects the legitimacy of the elections, calling them illegal and their results null and void. The ministry emphasised that temporary occupation confers no sovereign rights upon the occupying state and that no vote organised by Russia at gunpoint can alter the internationally recognised status of these territories.
Russia’s United Russia party is expected to cement its 23‑year grip on the State Duma, a result the Kremlin will use to claim widespread support for its war policies. President Vladimir Putin urged the nation to demonstrate unity and love for the Motherland, while state‑TV adverts featured military commanders and slogans such as “Your vote is the strength of Russia!”. The election occurs amid Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries and fears of mass mobilisation, and France has accused Russia of launching hybrid attacks.
France, Germany and Poland have all accused Russia of planning hybrid strikes against NATO members. France’s interior minister said all state services would be mobilised to counter interference from Moscow, and Poland deployed fighter jets after a Russian attack near its border, temporarily closing airports and issuing air‑raid warnings to residents.
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