When the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Russian President Vladimir Putin was determined to take over the country. For years, the Russian president published false information, stating that Russians and Ukrainians were “one people,” that Ukraine was not a real country, and that Ukraine should be part of Russia.
In the initial stages of the war, the Russians gained much territory. The invaders entered Ukraine through the north, east, and south. The Russians also believed they would conquer the country in a matter of days. But the Ukrainians held their ground. They defended their capital, and after a few months, they successfully forced the Russians out of northern Ukraine. As the war progressed, the Ukrainians continued to succeed on the battlefield, impressing the international community. Aside from Ukrainian resilience, grit, and determination to defend the homeland, the international community also has provided billions in defense, humanitarian, medical, and financial aid to Ukraine. These factors have allowed Ukraine to be successful, helping it inch closer to a total victory.
By September 2022, Putin’s war was turning. Hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers have died, numerous high-ranking officers have been killed, and billions of dollars of equipment were destroyed. The Ukrainians were also on course to liberate Kerhson, the only major Ukrainian metropolitan area Russia captured during the second invasion in 2022. In an act to defy reality, the Russian Federation announced that it would host referendums in the Ukrainian oblasts (provinces) of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. In a set of fabricated elections, where votes were predetermined, Putin falsely claimed that Ukrainian citizens in these four oblasts voted to become part of Russia. The international community swiftly condemned the falsified ballots. Countries throughout the world stated that the referendum and its results were illegal and a farce. Russia disregarded these condemnations.
One year later, the Russian Federation seeks to further dig into the Russian-occupied territories. In a set of documents received exclusively from the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, the Russians are preparing to host sham elections in the four Russian-occupied oblasts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. The Ukrainian Ministry of Culture and Information Policy stated that the Russians will host forced elections on September 10. The pseudo-elections, votes, and results and will be nothing more than Russian propaganda.
According to the documents, the Russians are using terror to force citizens in the regions to “play a part in [the election] propaganda show.” Hosting falsified elections in the four oblasts is another Russian attempt to try and legitimize its illegal and unnecessary invasion of Ukraine, and the results of these elections will not be recognized by Ukraine or the international community. Instead, the globe will reject the upcoming elections, similar to how the sham referendums were treated in the regions last year.
These recent developments suggest that the Russians continue to live in an alternate reality, where the Russians believe that somehow their actions are being justified. To date, numerous resolutions have been supported and passed at the United Nations, where most of the globe continues to condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Nonetheless, Russia continues to do as it pleases in eastern and southern Ukraine.
To be fair, the international community has imposed stiff penalties on Russia throughout the war. Over the past 19 months, thousands of international companies left the Russian Federation. Several Russian banks were removed from SWIFT. Numerous Russian oligarchs and politicians have had their assets frozen or seized, and some have been prevented from traveling to Western countries. Finally, Russia was suspended from international organizations such as the Council of Europe, United Nations Human Rights Council, FIFA, and UEFA. These events saw Russia lose roughly 4% of its GDP in 2022.
Despite the impact of these sanctions, the Russians have continued to launch their unnecessary war in Ukraine. This will only lead to the additional loss of life, and prolong the war.
As a result, the international community must continue to provide aid to Ukraine. It must also be ready to impose greater sanctions on Russian officials as they prepare to host these sham elections in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. 19 months into the war, Russia has yet to change its behavior, and financial penalties have not altered its actions. It is time for the international community to increase the penalties imposed on Russia. Only this, as well as an ensured Ukrainian victory, will end the war.
Mark Temnycky is an accredited freelance journalist covering Eurasian affairs and a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. He can be found on Twitter @MTemnycky
