Ukraine war briefing: Russia bans voting against the war
Russia has banned voting against the war in September’s elections. The supreme court upheld a suit brought by a small pro-Kremlin nationalist party, Roblina, and
Russia has banned voting against the war in September’s elections. The supreme court upheld a suit brought by a small pro-Kremlin nationalist party, Roblina, and stripped voters opposed to the war of their last option on the ballot: Yabloko, the country’s only remaining anti-war party. The court banned Yabloko’s entire list of federal election candidates from standing for the State Duma of Russia’s parliament. With most of Vladimir Putin’s opponents jailed, exiled or dead, Yabloko is the only liberal party still operating in Russia. Voting options other than Putin’s de facto party, the ruling United Russia, are only tolerated if they are too weak to win; give their backing to the Kremlin; or serve as “spoilers” that draw votes away from anyone who might pose a threat to the regime.
About a hundred supporters, mostly young people, gathered outside the courthouse chanting “Shame! Shame!” after the ruling was delivered. Like the Duma, the supreme court routinely rubber-stamps the Kremlin’s wishes. Addressing protesters, Yabloko leader Nikolay Rybakov said the party would appeal against the decision. In an interview with Agence France-Presse on the weekend, Rybakov said about 40 party activists were facing prosecution for opposing the war. The party’s deputy leader, Maxim Kruglov, was jailed for seven years in June over social media posts, while Rybakov was fined and barred from elections for posting a photo of Alexei Navalny. Independent polls show most Russians favour peace negotiations with Kyiv. Russian missiles and aerial bombs killed five people and injured about 20 others in the south-eastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia early on Tuesday, said the regional governor, Ivan Fedorov.
At the same time, the military administration in Kyiv said warehouses in a central district of the capital were ablaze after missile strikes. One person was reported injured. A Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet caught fire and crashed during a combat mission when a missile misfired, with the pilot ejecting safely. Ukraine’s air force said the pilot – who had been targeting Russian positions in the southern region of Odesa – was taken to hospital. Russia’s rollout of a Starlink alternative to counteract its banning from the US-based system is taking place faster than predicted, with 16 satellites in orbit so far, top Ukrainian intelligence official Maj Gen Vadym Skibitskyi has warned. Russia’s Rassvet system remains a far cry from Starlink, which had more than 10,000 satellites as of June and has given Kyiv a major advantage in drone operations and battlefield communications.
The BriefWire