Kremlin Plans 70% Win for Putin’s Party in Occupied Ukraine
The Kremlin has allegedly set predetermined turnout and United Russia support target statistics for voting in occupied Ukrainian territories. Kyiv says Moscow wants to use the illegal elections to create an appearance of legitimacy for its occupation.
Russia is set to manipulate the outcome of upcoming elections in the temporarily occupied Ukrainian regions, according to Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation. The Kremlin aims to ensure a turnout of over 65-70% and at least 70% support for Putin’s party, United Russia, in the State Duma elections scheduled for September 18-20.
This includes regions like Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, which Moscow claims to have annexed. Kovalenko stated that Russia plans to use the elections to demonstrate support for its occupation of Ukrainian territory. The Ukrainian official also emphasized that all parties permitted to contest the election support ongoing military operations against Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Supreme Court recently barred the liberal Yabloko party from participating in the Duma elections, citing violations of campaign rules. Yabloko, the only officially registered party opposing the war, rejected the ban and argued that it is an attempt to suppress anti-war sentiment.
Written by urgent.news from Kyiv Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
