A new sign went up a few miles from the front line recently on the main billboard of an occupied town in Ukraine’s Luhansk region.
Together we’re strong,” read the sign in the white, blue and red colors of the Russian flag, according to Anastasiia, a resident.
The message was clear to her: That the president was Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, not Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, and that Mr. Putin was the only choice in the Russian presidential vote taking place in the occupied parts of Ukraine over the past three weeks.
Mr. Putin long ago transformed Russian elections into a predictable ritual meant to convey legitimacy to his rule.
In the occupied territories, this practice has the additional goals of presenting the occupation as a fait accompli and identifying dissenters, said political analysts and Ukrainian officials.
Persons:
”, Vladimir V, Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, Mr
Locations:
Ukraine’s Luhansk, Russia, Ukraine