Russia planning attacks during sham elections in occupied Ukraine, intelligence warns

As the Foreign Intelligence Service explained, the enemy plans to carry out these crimes specifically under the "Ukrainian flag."

The Kremlin has several goals, namely:

• To justify increased repression against residents;

• To obtain a pretext for announcing a new wave of mobilization in Russia.

However, Moscow's key goal is to disrupt the US-mediated peace process by artificially escalating the situation and discrediting Ukraine.

According to intelligence, during the active voting period on September 18–20 in the occupied territories of the Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions, as well as in Crimea, several scenarios are possible.

In particular, these include:

• Explosions at polling stations or ballot collection sites outside working hours;

• Sabotage targeting transport and infrastructure used to transport members of election commissions;

• Assassination attempts against collaborators, including heads of election commissions and candidates for parliament.

Following such incidents, Russia may blame Ukraine, including Ukrainian drones or sabotage groups.

That is why the Foreign Intelligence Service urges residents of the temporarily occupied territories to avoid as much as possible from September 17 to 21:

• Places with large crowds;

• So-called polling stations;

• Administrative buildings involved in the voting process;

• Military facilities of the Russian forces.

"Russian special services disregard civilian casualties if this serves their current political objectives. Any gathering of people in the temporarily occupied territories during these days is a potential target for provocations by Kremlin propaganda," Ukrainian intelligence warns.

Earlier, it became known that Russia allegedly wants to resume negotiations with Ukraine after the State Duma elections.