Russia: In its latest move to show control, Russia announced plans on Thursday to hold elections in occupied parts of Ukraine in just three months even as a Ukrainian counteroffensive has pushed back its forces in some areas.
While Ukraine’s counteroffensive is in its early stages, military experts say the decisive battles still lie ahead. According to news agency Reuters, corpses of Russian soldiers and burnt-out armoured vehicles line the roadside in villages newly recaptured by Ukrainian troops in what is seen as Kyiv’s biggest advances since last year.
Russia’s announcement of a plan for polls in occupied territory was the latest effort by Moscow to convey that the situation was stable. Its TASS state news agency reported election chief Ella Pamfilova as informing that both the Defence Ministry and the Federal Security Service (FSB) had concluded it would be possible to hold the votes in September.
