The EU has said it will not recognise Russian State Duma elections held in Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia and will sanction people involved in organising or taking part in them.
The vote took place in Russia on 18–20 September 2026, and also in territories the EU described as temporarily occupied parts of Ukraine, including Crimea and Sevastopol and areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
The EU said Russia did not invite observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) — a regional security body whose election monitoring is widely used by participating states — and described this as a denial of an impartial and independent assessment, according to a statement issued on Monday on behalf of the bloc by High Representative Kaja Kallas.
It also said Russian authorities excluded candidates from the Yabloko party from running on the federal list, describing Yabloko as one of the last remaining opposition forces and the only party with an anti-war platform.
Non-recognition of votes in occupied Ukrainian territory
The EU condemned the organisation of what it called “so-called elections” in occupied Ukrainian territory and said they violated international law, including the UN Charter, and Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
It said it “does not and will never recognise” the holding of the votes in the occupied territories or their results, and added that those involved in organising the elections there or standing as candidates would be sanctioned.
The statement also said Russia should respect Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders and called on Moscow to agree to a “full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire” and to withdraw its military forces and equipment from Ukraine’s territory.
