Ukrainian parliament calls for non-recognition of Russian State Duma election results
On 29 October, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada adopted Resolution No. 16091, supported by 250 MPs, asking the international community not to recognize the results or legitimacy of the Russian State Duma’s ninth-convocation elections. The appeal particularly concerns voting in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories and calls on international actors to avoid granting legitimacy to the new Duma or its parliamentary delegations.
Pagrindiniai faktai
- Resolution No. 16091 was adopted by Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada on 29 October 2026.
- 250 MPs voted in favor of the resolution.
- The Russian State Duma’s ninth-convocation elections were held on 18–20 September 2026.
- The resolution calls on international actors not to recognize Russian voting results in occupied Ukrainian territories or any mandates and legal consequences arising from them.
- The appeal was addressed to the UN, the European Parliament, the parliamentary assemblies of the Council of Europe, NATO, the OSCE and GUAM, as well as national leaders, parliaments and governments.
- Russia included the Ukrainian-controlled cities of Sloviansk, Krasnohorivka and Sviatohirsk in one of its electoral districts for the State Duma vote.
- The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe described the elections as fictitious and illegitimate.
Kodėl tai svarbu
The resolution seeks to prevent the new State Duma and the results of voting in occupied Ukrainian territories from receiving international recognition. It asks international institutions and governments not to recognize mandates or decisions arising from the vote, avoid official engagement with the new Russian parliament except where urgent humanitarian issues require contact, and treat Russian elections on occupied Ukrainian land as a violation of sovereignty and international law.
Kas nutiko
On 29 October 2026, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada adopted Resolution No. 16091 with 250 votes in favor. It addresses an appeal to international institutions and governments, calling on them not to recognize the legitimacy or results of the Russian State Duma elections, voting conducted in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories, or any mandates, decisions and other consequences stemming from that voting. The resolution also calls on international actors to refrain from official interaction with the new Duma composition, apart from contacts needed to address urgent humanitarian matters. Ukraine’s parliament does not recognize the ninth-convocation Duma, its deputies, or the political and legal consequences of the Russian elections as legitimate.
Kaip apie tai rašo Ukrainos šaltiniai
Ukrainian parliamentary coverage focuses on the resolution, its approval by 250 MPs and the scope of its international appeal. Its legal and political rationale centers on Russia’s organization of voting on temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory, which is described as violating Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and providing no legal basis for extending Russian jurisdiction. The document also cites the absence of genuine political competition, persecution of opposition politicians, restrictions on free speech, independent media and civil society, exclusion of the Yabloko party, and insufficient independent international and domestic oversight.
Kaip apie tai rašo tarptautiniai šaltiniai
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe called the elections fictitious and illegitimate, citing the suppression of political opposition and other deficiencies. Germany’s government described the three-day vote as a staged event, while Estonia’s foreign minister called it a political spectacle. The Council of the European Union imposed sanctions connected with the elections and voting in occupied Ukrainian territories. International scrutiny also focused on disruptions to voting in Russian regions, including the relocation of a polling station in Krasnodar Krai after a drone damaged windows.
Kuo skiriasi pranešimai
Ukrainian sources differ over how many people the Council of the European Union added to its sanctions list in connection with the elections: some accounts report 77, while another reports 67.
Kontekstas
The ninth-convocation State Duma elections took place on 18–20 September 2026. The draft resolution was registered on 21 September and approved by the Verkhovna Rada committee on foreign policy and interparliamentary cooperation on 26 October. Russia included the Ukrainian-controlled cities of Sloviansk, Krasnohorivka and Sviatohirsk in a Russian electoral district for local voting. The Council of the EU subsequently added people to its sanctions list in connection with the elections in occupied Ukrainian territories.