Russia is preparing a new attempt to legitimize the occupied territories of Ukraine through elections to the State Duma in 2026, reports UNN with reference to the Center for Countering Disinformation.
Details
According to the Center, against the background of demands from the Kremlin for international recognition of the occupied territories as part of the Russian Federation, the Russian CEC has formed electoral single-mandate districts in the TOT:
- in the Donetsk region – three districts;
- in the Luhansk region – two districts;
- in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions – one each.
In 2026, the Kremlin plans to bring 11 deputies from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to the State Duma. To this end, the number of districts in Russia itself is being reduced.
The creation of "electoral districts" in the TOT is a standard practice of the Russian Federation. After the occupation of Crimea in 2014, Russia created 4 districts there for elections to the State Duma in 2016 and 2021. Ukraine did not recognize these "elections" due to their conduct in the occupied territories and mass falsifications
The Center recalled that in March 2024, Russia had already held the so-called "elections" of the President of the Russian Federation in the TOT, seeking to legalize the occupation through falsified results in favor of Putin.
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