Ukrainians in territories occupied by Russia are being “held at gunpoint” and forced to vote in parliamentary elections that “bear no resemblance to democracy,” the Ukrainian foreign ministry has warned.
For the next three days, 111 million people will head to the polls for Russia’s first parliamentary election since the since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 - and one that includes the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, as well as the annexed Crimean Peninsula.
“This is a farce orchestrated by the occupying state; it bears no resemblance to democratic elections and establishes no legal grounds for extending Russian jurisdiction to any part of Ukraine's territory,” a statement from the ministry said.
“No ‘vote’ organised by Russia at gunpoint alters the internationally recognised status of these territories. Temporary occupation confers no sovereign rights upon the occupying state.”
Ukraine refuses to recognise either the holding of the “illegal elections” or their “null and void results,” the ministry added.
With virtually no opposition, Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party is expected to cement its grip on parliament it has held for 23 years - result that will be held up by the Kremlin as evidence of widespread support for his war policies.
“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," the Putin told the nation before the vote.
An advert on state TV urging people to vote showed Russian military commanders down the ages before cutting to troops holding up the national flag after winning a battle in Ukraine with the slogan: "Their voice is the voice of victory. Your vote is the strength of Russia!"
The State Duma election, which will vote in the lower house of the Russian parliament, is happening against the backdrop of Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries and warehouses far from the frontline, a war economy that is hitting its limits and fears of a mass mobilisation as soon as the polls are closed.
As Putin himself was shown casting his vote from his office, France accused Russia of launching hybrid attacks in recent weeks.
President Emmanuel Macron told reporters after meeting in Paris with political party leaders to discuss the impact of both the Ukraine and Iran wars: “The threat - particularly the Russian hybrid threat - facing Europeans and France has intensified.”
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez later added on X that all relevant services would be mobilised to fend off interference from Moscow.
“The goal is clear: to mobilise all state services and local stakeholders so as to be ready to face these new threats,” he said.
France becomes the latest Nato member to accuse Russia of such attacks, only days after Germany pointed the finger at the Kremlin for the attempted drone strike at Leipzig Airport in August.
Citing unnamed intelligence agencies, Poland also sounded the alarm that Russia is plotting hybrid strikes with drones or missiles against Nato countries supporting Ukraine.
Prime minister Donald Tusk told Parliament: “These potential strikes would be quote-unquote 'accidental' in nature, intended to paralyse or at least weaken the resolve of Nato states to invoke the relevant Nato provisions in the event of aggression against a member country.”
Poland said it had deployed fighter jets in response to a Russian attack in western Ukraine, near to the Polish border, this week.
Airports in Rzeszow and Lublin were temporarily closed, and residents of two eastern regions of Poland received air raid warnings. Local media reported that sirens had sounded and that pupils in some schools had sought shelter.
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