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00:00 It's a peculiar election that's getting underway in eastern Ukraine.
00:03 Voters are those who've remained in the Russian-occupied regions.
00:07 "I came to vote to fulfil my civic duty. We have been waiting for this moment for a long time.
00:16 It's very important to us. We decided to vote for people who are fit to rule our region."
00:26 "I came because I wanted to vote for people who can help us get through the process of joining Russia."
00:32 With their freshly delivered Russian passports, residents cast their ballots in regional and
00:40 municipal elections, which are widely seen by Kiev and its allies, as a way for Vladimir Putin
00:46 to tighten his grip on the territories he illegally annexed last year.
00:52 "If we look at the list of candidates, for example, from the United Russia Party,
00:57 28 out of 60 are not local. There's someone from Siberia, someone from the Ural Mountains."
01:02 Governors handpicked by Moscow are seeking full terms in office in the regions of Donetsk,
01:08 Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson, with barely any opposition.
01:12 Ukrainian politicians have warned that Moscow may try to draft these residents
01:18 into their ranks to fight in the war.
01:20 [BLANK_AUDIO]