Russians force Ukrainians in occupied territories to vote for Putin

The Russians, with the assistance of the military, have organised a collection of signatures from the population of temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories supporting the "candidacy" of the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in the presidential elections of the Russian Federation.

Source: National Resistance Center (NRC)

Details: Reportedly, the so-called "volunteers", accompanied by Russian military personnel, are collecting signatures by going door-to-door in the occupied territories.

The NRC said that the Russians have managed to gather only 5,000 signatures so far, despite the coercive nature of the process and attempts to organise signature collection among employees of "state institutions". 

Ukrainians of the temporarily occupied territories are advised to ignore the initiatives of the Russians and refrain from participating in the so-called elections. If possible, they are encouraged not to open their doors to the Russians.

Background:

• In December 2023, the UK Defence Intelligence reported on how Russia planned to conduct "elections" for the post of the president of the Russian Federation in the occupied territories of Ukraine on 15-17 March 2024. 
• The intelligence service stated that similar to the regional elections in September 2023, the voting in the presidential "elections" in the areas controlled by Russia in Ukraine would neither be free nor fair.
• The UK added that the Russian occupation authorities most likely consider achieving "correct" results in these regions a priority, aiming to give a sense of legitimacy to Russia's invasion.

Support UP or become our patron!