Russia is synchronizing voting in occupied territories with efforts to suppress Ukrainian resistance and to run intimidation schemes to force votes in favor of the Kremlin.
In recent days, Russia appears to be concerned that it lacks authentic support in elections, the leading Russian election watchdog, Golos, said in a statement.
“Using the run-up to September [10] is an opportunity to popularize their handpicked quote unquote candidates and get the word out and kind of create pretext for… whatever the manipulated outcome is going to be,” Wilde said. “It is a lot of theater to compensate for shortfalls in a lot of areas, not the least of which is popular support.”
The European Union earlier condemned Russia’s decision to host elections in the occupied regions in Ukraine, calling them out for lacking legitimacy. “This is a further futile attempt by Russia to pretend to legitimize its illegal military control and attempted annexation,” said Peter Stano, the EU’s Lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
Putin is also likely running the elections with an eye towards the future, and looking to use the results as an insurance policy for years to come for Russia. Even if Putin himself has left the building, future Kremlin operatives may struggle to concede control of the regions in potential negotiations over Ukrainian territory once elections have taken place, Wilde warned.Already, Kyiv is working to fight back and counteract Russia’s influence in the occupied regions.
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