Russia continues to integrate the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine (TOT) into the Russian state administration system by redistributing single-mandate electoral districts. This is stated in the material of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), informs UNN.
Details
It is noted that the other day the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation approved a new scheme, which provides for the redistribution of single-mandate districts throughout Russia. Thus, seven of the existing 225 single-mandate districts are allocated to the TOT of Ukraine - three in the Donetsk region, two in the Luhansk region and one each in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
The scheme of redistribution of single-mandate districts will be applied for the first time in the elections to the State Duma in September 2026, where a total of 7 deputies from the occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions will be "elected" to the Duma. Russia created four single-mandate electoral districts in Crimea during the Duma "elections" in 2016 and 2021 after the occupation and annexation in 2014
They predict that Russia will use this new electoral district scheme in an attempt to legitimize its illegal occupation of Ukraine, similar to the introduction of single-mandate districts in Crimea in 2016 and 2021.
Residents of the occupied territories are likely to be forced to vote in 2026, and then the Kremlin will have grounds to claim high voter turnout and the popularity of the Russian authorities among the local population. Duma representatives are likely to be pro-Russian or Kremlin-sanctioned candidates, which will allow Russia to further legislate control over the occupied territories
Analysts assess Russia's "pseudo-legal" manipulations in the TOT as part of a broader Kremlin campaign to forcibly "integrate Ukraine into Russia" using Russian legislative levers.
Let us remind you
Earlier, the Center for Counteracting Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council stated that Russia is preparing a new attempt to legitimize the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine through elections to the State Duma in 2026. In particular, the Kremlin plans to bring 11 deputies from the TOT of Ukraine to the State Duma.