The European Union has dismissed Russia’s parliamentary elections as a “veneer” of democracy, with the bloc’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, proposing sanctions against individuals who facilitated the polls in occupied Ukrainian territories.
Russia’s ruling United Russia party secured a large majority in the elections, which were held amid tight restrictions on political opposition.
Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, criticised the conduct of the elections in a statement posted on X on Monday.
“The so-called Duma elections marked another major setback for Russian democracy. Their outcome was never in doubt,” Kallas wrote.
She accused the Kremlin of suppressing dissent and preventing opposition to Russia’s war in Ukraine from participating in the elections.
“The Kremlin silenced dissent, barred the only registered party that opposed its war in Ukraine, and shut out international election monitors. The veneer of democracy is all that remains in Russia,” she said.
Kallas also disclosed that she had proposed sanctions against individuals involved in organising the elections in Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia.
“I have proposed measures against those facilitating these sham elections in occupied Ukrainian territories,” she said.
The European Union has already imposed sanctions on about 3,000 officials and entities over Russia’s war against Ukraine, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The latest proposed measures would add to the EU’s existing sanctions regime targeting individuals and organisations accused of supporting Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
