EU to Sanction 77 Russian Duma Candidates from Occupied Ukraine

The European Union announced sanctions against 77 candidates running in Russian State Duma elections from temporarily occupied Ukrainian regions including Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson.

Legal Basis

The EU considers these elections illegitimate, conducted in violation of international law on territories recognized as Ukrainian. Sanctioned individuals face asset freezes and travel bans in the EU. This reinforces the EU's non-recognition policy regarding Russian annexation declared after the illegal 2022 referendums.