Russia-organized elections in occupied parts of Ukraine are an effort to tighten Moscow's hold on territories it illegally annexed a year ago.
After Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is buried, what’s next for his Russian private army, once a key Kremlin tool in Ukraine and Africa?Voters are supposed to elect regional legislatures, which in turn will appoint regional governors. In Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, thousands of candidates are also competing for seats on dozens of local councils.
The balloting is scheduled for the same weekend as other local elections in Russia. In the occupied regions, early voting kicked off last week asThe main contender in the election is United Russia, the Putin-loyalist party that dominates Russian politics, although other parties, such as the Communist Party or the nationalist Liberal Democratic party, are also on the ballots.
“For the last nine years, we’ve been striving to get closer with Russia, and Russian politicians are well-known to us,” Sergei, a 47-year-old resident of the occupied city of Luhansk, told the Associated Press, asking that his last name be withheld for security reasons. “We’re speaking Russian and have felt like part of Russia for a long time, and these elections only confirm that.”
Some voters in Donetsk shared Sergei’s sentiment, expressing love for Russia and saying they wanted to be part of it.. Local residents and Ukrainian activists say poll workers make house calls accompanied by armed soldiers, and most voters know little about the candidates, up to half of whom reportedly arrived from Russia — including from remote regions in Siberia and the far east.
“In most cases, we don’t know these Russian candidates, and we’re not even trying to figure it out,” said Konstantin, who currently lives in the Russian-held part of the Kherson region on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River.
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