Russia amends martial law legislation to allow elections and deportations in annexed territories

Russia has amended its legislation on martial law, making it legal, among other things, for elections to be held in Ukraine’s annexed territories as well as for residents to be deported from them. The changes were signed into law by Vladimir Putin on Monday.

The law “On martial law” now gives the government the ability to “transfer citizens in a forcible and controlled manner from a territory where martial law is in place to territories where martial law is not in place.” It also allows Russia’s Central Election Commission to authorize elections in territories where martial law is in place after receiving approval from executive branch leaders.

As of late May 2023, martial law has been declared by the Russian authorities in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics” as well as in the annexed Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.