Even as Ukraine pushes ahead with a counteroffensive to recapture Russian-held lands, Moscow is planning to move forward with efforts to cement its political control over the four occupied territories of Ukraine that were illegally annexed last year, scheduling regional elections for Sept. 10, according to the Russian news agency Tass.
The Russian Central Elections Commission announced that the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in the east, and Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the south would hold elections for legislative assemblies and municipal representative bodies, according to a post on the Telegram messaging app.
“For the first time, our new regions are holding elections together with the whole country,” Ella Pamfilova, the chair of the commission, told Tass.
The front line of the war stretches over 600 miles that cut through the four regions, with the Ukrainian counteroffensive underway in both the east and the south.
How legitimate the elections will be is an open question, given the general lack of civil liberties in occupied areas. Russia held referendums that most of the rest of the world considered to be illegal in the four regions last September. After five days of stage-managed voting, in which many residents said they were coerced to cast a ballot by armed soldiers, the Russian proxy officials announced purported results that showed, as expected, overwhelming support for joining Russia.
Shortly thereafter, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia signed decrees and held elaborate ceremonies to declare the regions officially a part of Russia, as the United States and European Union denounced the moves and imposed more punishing sanctions.
Andrew E. Kramer contributed reporting.
