Moscow, September 19, 2026: Russia is holding parliamentary elections in Ukrainian territories it seized and later claimed to have annexed, bringing residents of these regions into a State Duma election for
the first time since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four-and-a-half years ago.
Ukraine has strongly condemned the voting as illegal and urged other countries and international organisations not to recognise the election or its results. Human rights activists have also alleged that residents in Russian-held areas are being pressured to participate.
Voting Extends Into Seized Ukrainian Regions
Voting across Russia began on Friday and will continue until Sunday in an effort to boost turnout. However, balloting in the annexed parts of Ukraine and some areas on the Russian side of the border began at the end of August, with officials citing security concerns for the extended voting period.
Russian authorities say the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia territories have more than 3.5 million voters. Moscow claimed to have annexed the four regions in September 2022 despite not fully controlling them. The annexations have not been internationally recognised, AP reports.
At a polling station in the Russian-controlled part of the Donetsk region on Friday, voters cast their ballots while an armed Russian soldier stood nearby and watched.
Putin Puts Spotlight On ‘Reunification’
Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed the importance of voting in the regions during a speech on Wednesday, saying residents would participate in the State Duma election “for the first time since their reunification with Russia”.
Putin said Russian soldiers involved in the fighting would also vote. Balloting is also taking place in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 in a move that was not internationally recognised.
The election is Russia’s first wartime vote for the State Duma, the lower house of parliament. The Kremlin is presenting the exercise as a demonstration of political unity and public support for the war.
“Your choice and resolve will once again demonstrate that millions of people stand behind our fighters, that we are a united people, bound by shared values, historical memory, and love for the Motherland and that nobody can divide or intimidate us, undermine our statehood and political system,” Putin said.
Kyiv Rejects Vote, Warns Ukrainians
Ukrainian authorities have rejected voting in the Russian-held territories as illegal and called on foreign governments and international organisations not to recognise the election. Kyiv also warned Ukrainians that helping organise the vote could lead to criminal liability.
A coalition of nine Ukrainian human rights groups urged people living in Russian-held territories to stay away from polling.
“We urge residents of the temporarily occupied territories, above all, to protect their lives and health and to look after their own safety,” the coalition said.
It described the elections as an attempt to use the electoral process to legitimise Russia’s occupation and attempted annexation of Ukrainian territory.
European Commission spokesperson Christian Wigand described the voting in Russian-held regions as “another blatant violation of international law”.
“The European Union does not, and will never recognise either the holding of these, so-called elections, sham elections, in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine or their results,” Wigand said.
Activists Allege Pressure To Cast Ballots
Violeta Artemchuk, coordinator of the Donbas SOS human rights group and one of the signatories to the coalition’s statement, alleged that members of local election commissions were visiting homes accompanied by Russian troops and security personnel to force residents to vote.
Artemchuk also alleged that Moscow-appointed authorities were pressuring public-sector workers by threatening them with dismissal if they did not vote. She said pensions and other social payments were also being linked to participation in the election.
“For instance, if a person with a disability or a pensioner relies on social assistance and does not take part in the ‘voting,’ they could be added to a list of individuals deemed ‘disloyal’ to the so-called authorities and subsequently deprived of their benefits or humanitarian assistance,” she said.
‘Elections Held At Gunpoint Are A Farce’
Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst with the Kyiv-based Penta Center, questioned the legitimacy of an electoral exercise being conducted while the war continues, saying “elections held at gunpoint are a farce”.
“The very fact that voting takes place amid endless shelling and bombing reflects the Kremlin’s attitude toward the people and the electoral process in the occupied territories,” Fesenko told The Associated Press.
“It’s nothing short of a mockery. Any electoral procedures conducted by the Russian occupation authorities have nothing to do with democracy,” he said.
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The sharply conflicting accounts underline what is at stake in the vote. Moscow portrays participation as evidence that the territories are part of Russia, while Ukraine, the European Union and Ukrainian rights groups reject the election there as illegitimate. Allegations that residents are being pressured to vote add another layer of controversy to an election being conducted while fighting continues.
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