SBU Urges Residents of Occupied Ukrainian Territories Not to Participate in Russia’s September Elections

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has urged residents of occupied Ukrainian areas not to partake in Russia’s upcoming State Duma elections, scheduled for Sept. 18-20.

The Kremlin may use the vote to legitimize its control over Ukrainian territory, the SBU said on Monday, Sept. 14. Under the direction of Moscow-appointed officials, Russian occupation administrators are reportedly preparing what the agency described as another “fake plebiscite.”

“The Security Service once again calls on residents of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine not to become an instrument of the Kremlin regime in the war against our state,” the agency wrote in a statement posted to its official website.

Up to 10 years in prison for voting

The SBU said that organizing or promoting Russian elections could lead to criminal liability under Ukrainian law.

Part 5 of Article 111-1 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code applies to organizing, conducting or participating in the organization of illegal elections and referendums in occupied territory, as well as publicly calling for such actions.

The penalty includes up to 10 years in prison and additional confiscation of property.

According to the agency, Russian authorities had already used similar methods in earlier voting campaigns, specifically pointing to the sham referendums in September 2022 in occupied parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

Russian occupation administrations reportedly enlisted residents into so-called election commissions and campaigning teams, as well as organized public events aimed at promoting participation.

Subsequently, Moscow claimed to annex the territories following the votes, which Ukraine and its allies rejected as illegal and invalid.

Further “pseudo-elections” were held for regional bodies in occupied territories in 2023, the SBU said, noting that occupation officials involved local residents in election commissions that called on people to vote in the Kremlin’s interests.

Sybiha calls vote a ‘farce’

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the scheduled elections in a Sept. 7 post on X, calling the process a farce rather than a legislative election.

“[Russian President Vladimir] Putin has ruled Russia for 26 years – longer than Joseph Stalin. During this time, his regime has systematically dismantled anything that resembled democracy,” Sybiha said, arguing that Russia’s political system offered voters “no genuine choice” due to restrictions on the freedom of speech, including the jailing or killing of opposition figures.

He also pointed to the absence of independent observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

“This is not an election,” Sybiha said. “It is a farce used by Putin’s regime to manufacture domestic legitimacy, prolong its war of aggression, and mobilize more men as cannon fodder.”

Russia’s plan to hold the vote in Crimea and other occupied areas of Ukraine also represents a violation of international law.

Kyiv has consistently urged foreign governments and international institutions not to recognize electoral processes organized by Russia in Ukrainian territory under its occupation.

Russia barred its only liberal party from participating

On Aug. 10, Russia barred its only registered liberal party, Yabloko, from the upcoming State Duma elections.

“The Yabloko party is full of traitors. These are people who work for the West and hold Western values,” nationalist Rodina party leader Alexei Zhuravlyov, – who filed a lawsuit against Yabloko for promoting “extremism” – told reporters on Aug. 7.

Its removal reflects a wider pattern of political repression that leaves very little room for public opposition to the war, despite pushing for an immediate ceasefire that would leave the current front line largely intact.