Isolate Putin’s regime over sham elections

The EPP Group strongly denounces the 2026 sham elections to the Russian State Duma and calls for political and diplomatic isolation of the Russian regime for as long as necessary. We call for the exclusion of representatives of the regime from international fora and for the prevention of any normalisation of Russia’s participation in international sporting and cultural events.

"The 2026 Russian State Duma elections were neither free nor fair and took place under the Kremlin’s strict control, marked by electoral manipulation and falsification, including the addition of so-called ‘dead souls’ to voter lists. Vladimir Putin’s party, United Russia, increased its constitutional majority by 8%. These first Duma elections since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine have provided Putin with a political mandate to continue his war," said Sandra Kalniete MEP, EPP Group Spokeswoman on Russia, ahead of the European Parliament vote on a resolution condemning the so-called elections, which the EPP Group pushed for. 

The EPP Group calls on EU Member States to sanction those behind political persecution and fabrication of cases against Russian civil society representatives. We want to sanction all those who organised, administered, stood for election or claimed to represent the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine or acted there as 'observers'. The EPP Group will not recognise any political or legal consequences deriving from these illegitimate elections.

"The Putin regime has systematically deprived Russian citizens of their right to free and fair elections. This sham election showcased once more the Kremlin’s utter contempt for and disregard of democratic principles. The only openly anti-war party, Yabloko, was even banned from participating. This electoral farce is a civilisational step backwards compared to elections held in Russia in the 1990s and is an attempt to erect a democratic Potemkin façade over an undemocratic act. Holding the vote in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine also violates international law," stresses Michael Gahler MEP, who leads the EPP Group’s MEPs in the Committee on Foreign Affairs.