Thread theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qmezd5yTGRQhttps://www.npr.org/2026/09/19/g-s1-144169/russia-holds-parliamentary-vote-in-areas-it-seized-from-ukraineRussia's parliamentary election for the first time includes residents of regions that Moscow illegally annexed from Ukraine after the start of its full-scale invasion more than 4 1/2 years ago, part of Kremlin efforts to cement its gains.Officials in Kyiv vigorously denounced the action as illegal, and a human rights activist described residents there as being coerced to participate in the election.While the vote across Russia started Friday and lasts until Sunday to help boost turnout, balloting actually has been underway in the annexed parts of Ukraine and some areas on the Russian side of the border since the end of last month. Officials cited security reasons for the extended period.Russian authorities say the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia territories, often referred to by Moscow officials as the "new regions," have over 3.5 million voters. They were annexed by Russia in September 2022, despite not fully being under Moscow's control. The move has not been recognized internationally.At one polling station in the Russian-held part of the Donetsk region, voters dropped their ballots in a box as an armed Russian soldier stood nearby and watched.In a speech Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized the importance of balloting in those regions for the State Duma, the lower house of parliament. Residents there will be voting for the Duma "for the first time since their reunification with Russia."He noted that Russian soldiers involved in the fighting also will vote.Voting also is taking place in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that was illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014.The first wartime election to the State Duma is intended to secure the Kremlin's political dominance and showcase public support for the war.
>>1537881"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 and that nobody can divide or intimidate us, undermine our statehood and political system," Putin said.Ukraine urges other countries not to recognize the voteAuthorities in Kyiv called the voting in those territories illegal and urged foreign governments and international organizations not to recognize the election. They warned Ukrainians that taking part in organizing the vote could carry criminal liability.A coalition of nine Ukrainian human rights groups called on residents of the Russia-held territories to stay away from the polls."We urge residents of the temporarily occupied territories, above all, to protect their lives and health and to look after their own safety," the coalition said in a statement. "Holding Russian elections in the temporarily occupied territories is an attempt to use the electoral process to legitimize the Russian occupation and the attempted annexation of Ukrainian territories."European Commission spokesperson Christian Wigand said the voting in Russian-held regions represented "another blatant violation of international law. The European Union does not, and will never recognize either the holding of these, so-called elections, sham elections, in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine or their results."Activists describe coercion to voteVioleta Artemchuk, coordinator of the Donbas SOS human rights group who was among those who signed the statement, said members of local election commissions were going house to house, escorted by Russian troops and security agents, to force people to vote.
>>1537882Moscow-appointed authorities exert pressure on residents, threatening those who work in the public sector with dismissal if they fail to vote and making pensions and other social payments conditional on participating, Artemchuk said."For instance, if a person with a disability or a pensioner relies on social assistance and does not take part in the 'voting,' they could be added to a list of individuals deemed 'disloyal' to the so-called authorities and subsequently deprived of their benefits or humanitarian assistance," she said.Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst with the Kyiv-based Penta Center, emphasized that "elections held at gunpoint are a farce.""The very fact that voting takes place amid endless shelling and bombing reflects the Kremlin's attitude toward the people and the electoral process in the occupied territories," Fesenko told The Associated Press."It's nothing short of a mockery. Any electoral procedures conducted by the Russian occupation authorities have nothing to do with democracy," he said.
Stop Russia…
>>1537881strange that the turnout for men was in the single digits but they are probably on vacation
Republicans and trump will take notes on how Putin rigs this election so they can copy it for the midterms
trustworthy news sources are covering this story completely differently from the MSM's propaganda narrative. read real news if you want to see whats really happening in liberated territories.
>>1537931Don't fight for Ukraine online. Fight for it in person. Show the world how Ukraine is winning
>>1537937you're replying to a schizophrenic foreigner who thinks they're trolling you
>>1537937Fighting in Ukraine is a real job. You should try it. Don't tell me "Ukraine is winning". Show me
>>1537974Ukraine is winning though, you can see it just like everyone can see you're not white or american
You can tell it's going bad for Russia since ESL shill has retreated to his NY post spam threads.
Moscow is burning
>>1537987Ukraine still hitting Russian refineries even after trump demanded they stop>>1536724
>>1537980I can't see your real job
Kinda wild that liggerals are forcing us into closer conflict with Russia, purely because they want to cover up the Briben family raping kids in Ukraine. This entire war, millions of Ukrainian lives lost, millions of displaced Ukrainians, hundreds of billions of dollars of western equipment destroyed, hundreds of billions of American tax payer dollars wasted, exploding prices and inflation, purely because they want to keep the evidence out of Russia's hands and protect pedophiles. Insane. Absolutely insane.
>>1538042Kinda wild that connie closet case is still screeching about biden almost 2 years later.So Putin is biden's puppet, and that's why he started the war with Ukraine in the warped and shriveled pea that manages all of your gay thought? (Singular, yeah.)That's a very interesting retarded thought, connie, it's really impressive how your deranged mind can draw these schizo connections between two unrelated events with no causal link!So if that's true, why does Trump constantly have putin's nuts in his mouth, connie?
>>1538075>I'm a faggot and sit around seething about biden. I'm projecting that.Connie, connie, connie closet case... you literally bitch about biden in this board.
>>1538042That's a lot of words to deflect from the trump piss tape and Don Jr taking a big ass bribe from the Russians.
>>1538093Remember when the trump regime tries to de-platform someone from twitter for calling him a bitch?Petty fascism. Also ESL-shill retreated to the one of 20 Russianpost threads he spammed.
>>1538095>ELS-shill immediately goes into a Russian tier non sequitur
>>1538096It's not truly Russian-tier until it mentions dicks in asses for some reason.
>>1537881ahh copying americans alerady huh
>>1538095>Connie closet case obsessing about other people's sexuality to the surprise of no one.
>>1537881Im sure it will be a completely clean election with absolutely no bad actors at play that will absolutely give full legitimacy to Russia's war. Russia has the most secure, legitimate elections in the world after all.Would be kinda funny if the vote is overwhelmingly against annexation of Donbas lmao.
>>1538232Let us know when Zelensky decides to hold elections again
>>1537881A druglord named Zelensky taking over territory. lmao.
>>1538232Let us know when Palestine decide to hold another election
