Euroopan parlamentin Ukraina-valtuuskunnan puheenjohtajana yhdessä Venäjä-valtuuskunnan puheenjohtaja Ville Niinistön, ulkoasiainvaliokunnan pysyvän Venäjä-raportöörin Sandra Kalnieten sekä Euronestin parlamentaarisen edustajakokouksen puheenjohtajan Sergey Lagodinskyn kanssa kanssa tuomitsemme vahvasti Venäjällä 21.9.2026 käytyjen parlamenttivaalien oikeudellisuuden. Vaalit käytiin ennennäkemättömän epäreilusti, ilman todellista poliittista kilpailua tai riippumatonta vaalitarkkailua. Oppositiota kriminalisoitiin ja vaiennettiin, ja valtion kontrollia mediaan kiristettiin.

Voit lukea kannanoton kokonaisuudessaan alta.

Parliamentary elections in the Russian Federation on 18-20 September and their illegal conduct in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine

Joint Statement by

Mr .Ville NIINISTÖ, Chair of the Delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee

Mr. Pekka TOVERI, Chair of the Delegation to EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Association Committee

Ms. Sandra KALNIETE, AFET Standing rapporteur on Russia

Mr. Sergey LAGODISNS, Chair of the Delegation to Euronest Parliamentary Assembly

Brussels, 21^st September 2026

We deplore that the parliamentary elections held by the Russian Federation on 18-20 September were conducted in the most repressive environment, with no political competition, criminalisation and elimination of political opposition, tightened state-controlled media, and in the absence of independent international election observers.

We strongly condemn the illegal conduction of these so-called elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine – the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the City of Sevastopol and parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions – in blatant violation of international law, in particular the UN Charter, and of Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. The sham elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, considered for the second year in a row the world’s least-free territories were staged under martial law, amid coercion, forced passportisation, door-to-door balloting in the presence of armed personnel and credible reports of grave human rights violations. We therefore urge the EU and its Member States to not recognise the legality of these so-called elections and consider the results as null and void.

We condemn the systematic and increasing repression by the Russian authorities and the violations of civil and political rights in the Russian Federation, which has reached maximal levels in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, as well as the prosecution and intimidation of political opponents, independent journalists, civil society representatives, ethnic minorities and anti-war citizens both in Russia and abroad. This adds to long-standing and systemic restrictions on freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, as well as media freedom in an increasingly authoritarian regime.

In particular, we condemn the exclusion of the Yabloko party from the State Duma and regional elections electoral lists, the removal of its candidates on politically motivated grounds, as well as the farcical sentences imposed on Yabloko’s deputy chairs Lev Shlosberg and Maxim Kruglov shortly before the elections. Yabloko was the only registered political party openly campaigning for the end of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Its elimination from the ballot reveals the authorities’ intentions to silence any opportunity for dissent in these elections.

We call on the immediate release of Mr Shlosberg and Mr Kruglov as well as that of all political prisoners and those imprisoned for exercising their civil and political rights, in particular for opposing the war, and we call for the restoration of freedom of expression and association in Russia.

We deplore the decision of Russian authorities not to invite OSCE/ODIHR observers, thereby denying voters and institutions an impartial and independent assessment of these elections. We recall that this constitutes a serious breach of Russia’s OSCE commitments and marks the third consecutive nationwide electoral process in which such commitments have not been fulfilled. This decision is even more concerning considering that in Russia independent domestic election observation has been suppressed, with the dismantling of the Russian citizen-led watchdog Golos movement and the imprisonment on trumped charges of its co-chair Gregory Melkonyants, whose immediate liberation we demand.

We call on the EU to continue supporting the crucial role of Russian pro-democracy civil society organisations, human rights defenders and independent media and we reiterate our unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders. Russia must cease its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine and immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its military forces and equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine

Kannanotto luettavissa myös täällä.