The occupation authorities of the Kherson region claim that during the elections to the Russian State Duma, drones delivered ballots to Oleshky (where a humanitarian catastrophe is ongoing).
The head of the occupation election commission of the Kherson region Marina Zakharova told one of the Russian propaganda media outlets about this.
Zakharova said that with the help of drones, the residents of Oleshky were apparently able to exercise their right to vote, despite difficult humanitarian circumstances. She also said that members of the occupation election commission worked closely with the Russian military group "Dnipro".
On September 18–20, 2026, three-day elections to the State Duma were held in Russia. These were the first parliamentary elections in the Russian Federation since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In particular, they were held in the occupied territories.
Because of this, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) recognized the new composition of the Russian State Duma as illegitimate. Subsequently, the European Parliament also stated that it did not consider the formed parliament to be a “legitimate representative and legislative body”.
Whatʼs happening in Oleshky
On September 20, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stated that the Russians are deliberately creating a humanitarian catastrophe in the temporarily occupied left-bank Kherson region, blocking the delivery of food and medicine, hindering the work of humanitarian missions and the evacuation of civilians.
At the same time, they are constantly attacking civilians with drones.
The most difficult situation is currently in Oleshky. Before the full-scale invasion, approximately 24 000 people lived there, and now about two thousand remain, including 50 children.
Ukrainian military personnel delivered food to local residents using drones. In one delivery, they delivered almost 400 packages of food, medicine, and baby kits weighing a total of 4 tons.
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