EU foreign policy chief Kallas condemns Russian Duma elections

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas has criticised Russia’s State Duma elections, describing them as a setback for democracy.

“The so-called Duma elections marked another major setback for Russian democracy. Their outcome was never in doubt," she wrote on X, Caliber.Az reports. 

The so-called Duma elections marked another major setback for Russian democracy. Their outcome was never in doubt.

The Kremlin silenced dissent, barred the only registered party that opposed its war in Ukraine, and shut out international election monitors.

The veneer of…

— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) September 21, 2026

Kallas said the Kremlin had silenced dissent, barred the only registered party that opposed its war in Ukraine and excluded international election monitors. She added that only a “veneer of democracy” remained in Russia and said she had proposed measures against those facilitating what she called “sham elections” in occupied Ukrainian territories.

"I have proposed measures against those facilitating these sham elections in occupied Ukrainian territories,” Kallas wrote on X.

By Sabina Mammadli