Russia’s Parliamentary Election Reaches Occupied Ukraine Amid Claims of Intimidation

Russia’s State Duma elections began on Friday, marking the first parliamentary vote since the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The process includes voting in the occupied regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, where Moscow seeks to project an illusion of popular support for its annexation. The OSCE was not invited to monitor the proceedings, a move described by OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Pere Joan Pons as a breach of international commitments and a disregard for democratic standards. Within Russia, the Supreme Court banned the opposition Yabloko party from participating, while prominent war critics have faced lengthy prison sentences. The ballot features nine parties, all of which support President Vladimir Putin. In occupied territories, authorities have reportedly compiled voter lists by forcing residents to obtain Russian passports. Jaroslava Barbieri of Chatham House described the environment as a "total regime of terror," noting that election officials are escorted by armed soldiers for door-to-door voting. Ukrainian parliamentarian Volodymyr Ariev labeled the elections illegal and urged residents to boycott the process. Ivana Stradner of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) argued that the Kremlin is using the ballot box to manufacture legitimacy for its aggression, stating, "In Putin’s version of democracy, the voters get to choose… just not the result."