EU Threatens Sanctions Over Russia’s Sham Elections in Occupied Ukraine

The EU has threatened sanctions against candidates and officials involved in organizing Russia’s parliamentary elections in occupied Ukrainian territories, declaring that it will never recognize either the vote or its results.EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas issued the warning on Monday in a statement on behalf of the bloc following Russia’s Sept. 18-20 State Duma elections, Interfax-Ukraine reported.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.The EU “strongly condemned” Russia’s organization of what it called illegal elections in occupied Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as Russian-controlled parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions.Brussels described the voting as another “blatant violation” of international law, including the UN Charter, and of Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.According to the statement, the EU “does not and will never recognize either the holding of these so-called ‘elections’ in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine or their results.”The bloc warned that sanctions would be applied to people who organized the voting or ran as candidates in occupied Ukrainian territories. Those responsible for undermining the possibility of holding free and fair elections inside Russia could also face restrictive measures.Elections in occupied territoriesMoscow organized voting across Ukrainian territories it claims to have annexed despite not fully controlling four of the regions. Ukraine and its Western partners reject the annexations as illegal and recognize all occupied areas, including Crimea, as Ukrainian territory. Other Topics of Interest Ukraine Urges Europe to Send Patriot Missiles Now, Replenish Stocks With Future Production, Chernev Says Kyiv is also seeking to accelerate existing European funding commitments as war costs climb to $190 million a day. The EU called on Russia to respect Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders, end its war of aggression and agree to a full, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire. It also demanded the complete withdrawal of Russian troops and military equipment from Ukraine.The statement went beyond the voting in occupied Ukraine, saying the election demonstrated the “deep and ongoing erosion of democracy” inside Russia.The EU pointed to the exclusion of Yabloko’s federal list from the election. Yabloko was one of Russia’s last legally operating opposition parties and the only registered party contesting the vote with an explicitly anti-war platform.Its removal further restricted voters’ choices in an election already shaped by Russia’s repression of dissent and the elimination of meaningful political competition, the EU said.The bloc accused Russian authorities of systematically using administrative and judicial resources to silence opponents of the war, restrict access to independent information, and prevent democratic forces from challenging the Kremlin.The EU also criticized Moscow for failing to invite observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). It said the decision violated Russia’s commitments as an OSCE participating state and deprived voters of an impartial assessment of the election.Russia’s ruling United Russia party retained its overwhelming control of the State Duma, winning 57.83% of the vote and 355 of its 450 seats, according to near-final results.The result preserves the party’s constitutional majority and the Kremlin’s control over the lower house of parliament. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.