Russia stages sham State Duma vote in occupied Ukraine amid coercion

18 September, 12:21 PM

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Election commission members accompanied by a Russian serviceman visit residents of Donetsk Oblast during early voting in Russia’s so-called parliamentary elections. Verbivka, Donetsk Oblast, Sept. 14, 2026. (Photo: REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko)

So-called early voting has already begun in the temporarily occupied territories, starting on Aug. 29, 2026.

Violeta Artemchuk, lead coordinator of the Donbas SOS civic organization, explains in an NV explainer where the line lies between actions forced by life under occupation and criminal conduct, and whether Ukrainians forced to participate in sham elections under occupation could face punishment in Ukraine.

How widespread is coercion to participate in ‘elections’ in the temporarily occupied territories?

Coercion in the occupied territories can be direct or indirect.

Cases of direct coercion — when election commission members enter people’s homes accompanied by armed Russian troops — were documented during previous sham votes. The occupation authorities formally justify the presence of armed personnel as “protection for commission members.” But in occupied territory, where the rule of law does not apply, an armed person appearing at someone’s doorstep is automatically perceived as a direct threat to life and health.

Indirect coercion, however, is more widespread. It involves creating conditions in which refusing to participate in the occupiers’ “political life” threatens a person’s basic survival. For example, if a person with a disability or a pensioner depends on social assistance and does not take part in “voting,” that person may be placed on lists of people deemed “disloyal” to the so-called authorities and deprived of payments or humanitarian assistance.

Russia has already used similar coercive tactics during its mass passport campaign. There have been documented cases in the temporarily occupied territories of Zaporizhzhya Oblast where free deliveries of drinking water were restricted for residents who refused Russian passports.

The Ukrainian state takes the position that most actions by civilians under occupation are involuntary and carried out under pressure. Living in the dangerous conditions of occupation is itself considered a coercive factor.

Will Ukrainians in the temporarily occupied territories be held liable for voting?

At present, Ukraine’s Criminal Code does not provide for criminal liability simply for participating in a vote — that is, when a person merely casts a ballot at a polling station.

Human rights advocates, however, strongly urge citizens to ignore the sham elections whenever possible and avoid polling stations. Russian and pro-Russian media operate at polling sites. Footage or comments given to occupation media can be distorted and used to portray the process as legitimate and the population as “loyal.”

The main advice to residents of the temporarily occupied territories is therefore to distance themselves from the “voting” whenever possible. Go to a village or a country house, or take sick leave. If you are forced to vote, under no circumstances give interviews or speak to members of the media present at the site.

Where is the line between voting and collaboration?

Under Part 5 of Article 111-1 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code, which covers collaboration, criminal liability applies to serving as a member of an “election commission,” acting as an observer for occupation organizations or parties, organizing and conducting sham elections, and publicly calling on people to participate in the “elections.” The penalty under the article is five to 11 years in prison with confiscation of property. Simply participating in the vote itself, however, as noted above, is not a crime and does not carry criminal liability.

Even if a person is forced to join an “election commission” through threats or blackmail, including threats to the life or health of relatives, it is currently very difficult to prove legally that physical or psychological coercion occurred.

Although Article 40 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code provides for mitigation of or exemption from liability for acts committed under coercion, court practice involving election organizers in the temporarily occupied territories shows that proving such circumstances is extremely difficult. Serving on election commissions, even under coercion, therefore creates a serious risk of becoming the subject of an investigation and being convicted after the territories are liberated or after traveling to Ukrainian-controlled territory.

What does international law say, and is this a war crime?

An occupying power holding its own elections in annexed or seized territory belonging to another state constitutes a gross violation of international law.

First, it violates the U.N. Charter and the Hague Convention. Under internationally recognized rules governing occupation, an occupying authority must preserve the territory’s legal status quo, may not change residents’ citizenship and has no right to hold its own political elections. The institutions and laws of the state to which the territory belongs must remain in force in occupied territory.

The issue also concerns territorial integrity. Attempts to involve Ukrainian territories in Russia’s electoral processes are regarded as an effort to legitimize annexation and an infringement on Ukraine’s sovereignty. Organizing elections in temporarily occupied territories violates the laws and customs of war and therefore constitutes a war crime by the occupying power and occupation administration.

Organizing voting in the temporarily occupied territories also provides grounds for the EU, the United States and other countries to impose new packages of individual and sectoral sanctions against members of Russia’s Central Election Commission, local collaborators and “observers.” For Russia’s senior leadership and the organizers of the process, it is another episode that adds to the material for future international tribunals and the International Criminal Court.

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