Russia's parliamentary election is for the first time including residents of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow claims to have annexed since launching its full-scale invasion more than 4 1/2 years ago, in a move aimed at strengthening its control over the areas.
Ukraine strongly condemned the voting as illegal, while a human rights activist said residents in Russian-held areas were being pressured to take part.
Voting across Russia began Friday and will continue through Sunday in an effort to boost turnout. However, balloting in the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and some Russian border areas began at the end of last month. Russian officials said the extended voting period was necessary for security reasons.
Russian authorities say more than 3.5 million voters live in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which Moscow calls the "new regions." Russia declared the territories annexed in September 2022, although it did not fully control them. The annexations have not been internationally recognized.
At a polling station in the Russian-held part of Donetsk, voters cast ballots while an armed Russian soldier stood nearby.
Putin highlights importance of vote
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that voting in the regions was important, as residents would elect members of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, for the first time since what he called their "reunification with Russia."
Russian soldiers fighting in the war also will be allowed to vote, Putin said.
Voting is also taking place in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014.
The election is the first wartime parliamentary vote in Russia and is intended to reinforce the Kremlin's political control and demonstrate public support for the war.
"Your choice and resolve will once again demonstrate that millions of people stand behind our fighters," Putin said, adding that Russians were united by shared values, historical memory and love for their homeland.
Ukraine calls for rejection of vote
Ukrainian authorities described the voting in the occupied territories as illegal and urged foreign governments and international organizations not to recognize the election or its results. Kyiv also warned Ukrainians that helping organize the vote could result in criminal charges.
A coalition of nine Ukrainian human rights organizations urged residents in Russian-held territories to avoid the polls, saying the election was an attempt to legitimize Russia's occupation and attempted annexation of Ukrainian territory.
European Commission spokesperson Christian Wigand said holding the vote in the occupied regions was "another blatant violation of international law."
"The European Union does not, and will never recognize" the elections or their results, Wigand said.
Activists allege pressure on residents
Violeta Artemchuk, coordinator of the Donbas SOS human rights group and one of the signatories of the statement, said local election officials were visiting homes with Russian soldiers and security agents to pressure people into voting.
She said Moscow-backed authorities were also threatening public-sector workers with dismissal if they did not vote and making pensions and other social benefits conditional on participation.
People receiving social assistance, including pensioners and people with disabilities, could be placed on lists of those considered "disloyal" and risk losing benefits or humanitarian aid if they refused to vote, Artemchuk said.
Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst at the Kyiv-based Penta Center, said elections held under such conditions could not be considered genuine.
"The very fact that voting takes place amid endless shelling and bombing reflects the Kremlin's attitude toward the people and the electoral process in the occupied territories," Fesenko told The Associated Press.
He said electoral procedures conducted by Russian occupation authorities "have nothing to do with democracy."
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