Russia includes occupied Ukrainian regions in Duma vote
For the first time since the 2022 annexations, Moscow has added occupied parts of four Ukrainian regions to the three-day State Duma elections.
Russia is holding the second day of a three-day parliamentary vote, and for the first time since the 2022 annexations Moscow included occupied parts of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the State Duma elections.
Voting opened on 18 September and will continue until Sunday, 20 September. Russians are electing 450 deputies to the State Duma, while gubernatorial contests and regional parliament ballots are taking place in several federal subjects at the same time.
This is Moscow's first nationwide parliamentary vote since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Annexation and international stance
Moscow formally declared Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson part of the Russian Federation in September 2022 after referendums held under conditions of military occupation. Those annexations have not been recognised internationally.
The European Union announced in advance that it will not recognise any election results produced on Ukrainian territory. Russia still does not exercise full control over the territory of all four regions.
Photo: press material from the event
