Yevheniia Hliebova, head of Novomykolaivka village military administration in Kherson region, who has left occupied territory, described it as an “election at gunpoint. That is, violence.”
Election officials were walking around Novomykolaivka, Hliebova said, “in a brigade accompanied by an armed soldier. He was carrying a weapon, so it was a threat, not verbal, but in fact it was a threat of violence.” Those who refused to vote were threatened with repercussions, she said.
The intimidation of Ukrainians under Russian military control to cast ballots in the presidential election mirrors the process in autumn of 2022 when residents were similarly forced at gunpoint to vote in illegal referendums on Russian annexation. Then, Russia in some cases even claimed to annex territory in the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia that its military had not yet occupied. In other cases, Ukraine later ousted the occupiers but Moscow has not relinquished its claims, which followed Russia’s illegal invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Vladimir Putin, who has ruled as Russia’s supreme political leader since Dec. 31, 1999 — repeatedly finding ways to defy term limits to stay in power — is guaranteed to win the election, giving him another six-year term. The election, even for legitimate voters in Russia, offers no genuine democratic choice with the Kremlin blocking genuine opposition candidates from the ballot, controlling media coverage and, critics allege, falsifying results.
Constitutional changes engineered by Putin in 2020 enable him to rule potentially until 2036, but it is generally understood that he will remain in charge as long as he wants.
The forced vote is part of a broader process of Russification in occupied regions, including forced curriculum changes in schools, the torture, imprisonment and expulsion of pro-Kyiv figures, the installation of Kremlin puppet administrations, and requiring Ukrainians to sign up for Russian passports to function in daily life.
In Mariupol, the occupied city on the Azov Sea, on Saturday, voting took place two years after Russia’s March 16, 2022, bombing of the city’s drama theater, which killed hundreds of people sheltered there, despite a huge sign on the ground indicating that civilians, including children, were inside.
Russian state media, however, showed happy residents at a Mariupol polling station, which featured an exhibition of children’s drawings bearing slogans like “I’m a future voter” — part of Russia’s continued use of children for state propaganda and indoctrination, which has been a central feature of the war in occupied areas and in Russia.
One Mariupol resident interviewed by The Washington Post by phone said, “People couldn’t care less about the elections because everyone understands perfectly well that it’s elections without choice.” The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the risk of retribution by Russian authorities.
“There’s no rule of law, no courts, nothing. Everything is broken,” the person said. “Against this backdrop, the presidential elections are just some kind of crap.”
The resident said people were forced to apply for Russian identity documents to receive social payments since early in the occupation, but new rules now require them to have Russian documents for everything from property titles of homes to drivers’ licenses. Many people are anxious, amid rumors that anyone with Ukrainian documents could be evicted.
In a post on Telegram, Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate, HUR, accused Russian forces of using “intimidation, bribery, and pressure” to force Ukrainians to vote.
Some Ukrainians who were being collared by election teams were asked to fill out ballots in front of pro-Kremlin election workers and soldiers — violating the principle of a secret ballot, a core tenet of democracy.
One woman in occupied Energodar, Zaporizhzhia region, was at her daughter’s apartment when she heard a knock on the door.
“It was two representatives from the polling station and two seeming military personnel in balaclavas…
Read More: In Russian presidential election, voting is forced at gunpoint in occupied