Russia’s sham elections in occupied Ukrainian territories: UK statement to the OSCE

Ambassador Holland condemns Russia’s sham elections in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories as violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty and the Helsinki Final Act. The UK rejects Russia’s attempted annexation and urges Moscow to end its aggression and pursue a just and lasting peace.

Location:

Vienna

Delivered on:

24 September 2026 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

Thank you, Mr Chair.

Russia has once again staged sham elections on sovereign Ukrainian territory.

Holding State Duma elections in temporarily occupied Crimea and parts of Donetsk,

Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson violates Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It breaches the principles of the Helsinki Final Act, including the inviolability of frontiers. These territories are Ukraine. A sham vote under occupation cannot change that. Nor can it legitimise Russia’s attempt to acquire Ukrainian territory by force.

There can be no free choice under foreign military occupation. Residents have been drawn into Russian electoral structures through imposed administration, Russian passport requirements and voting arrangements that expose households to direct pressure.

These elections are not separate from the occupation. They are one of its instruments.

Russia is imposing its administration, law, citizenship, media and education system on Ukrainian territory. It suppresses Ukrainian identity and promotes loyalty to the occupying power. Children face indoctrination and militarisation. Civilians face enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention and torture. Russia presents a ballot box while denying the people around it their basic rights. All of this and more is documented in the 2026 Moscow Mechanism report, ODIHR monitoring and other credible international reporting.

This is not democracy. It is an attempt to manufacture legitimacy for occupation and make the results of aggression appear permanent.

The United Kingdom does not recognise these sham elections in the temporarily occupied territories or Russia’s attempted annexation of Ukrainian territory.  Borders cannot be redrawn through force, repression or fabricated ballots.

Russia has used the machinery of these so-called “elections” not to express the will of the Ukrainian people, but to attempt to deny their right to determine their own future.

That right belongs to Ukraine. Decisions about Ukraine’s territory, security and future are for Ukraine.

We will address the broader conduct of Russia’s elections later in today’s agenda. One case is nevertheless relevant here. In Chelyabinsk, a candidate was reportedly disqualified after campaign material included the words of former Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko: “Better ten years of negotiations than one day of war.”

Russia should stop suppressing that message and start heeding it. It must end its aggression and engage seriously in negotiations towards a just and lasting peace, based on respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and the principles of the Helsinki Final Act.

Thank you, Mr Chair.