Russia has recently held local elections, including – for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine last February – counting votes in the four territories annexed to Russia after a series of illegal and illegitimate referendums last September. The outcome of these elections – that is, another “triumph” for the Putin regime – was never in doubt.
But the way in which they were conducted – with hundreds of complaints and reports of irregularities – is telling, both about the state of the illegal occupation and about Russia’s plans and expectations for the next stage of the war.
From a Russian perspective, the elections add supposed legitimacy to its claim that these four regions are now and forever Russian territory. But this claim rings hollow, even by Moscow’s standards.
