KYIV, Ukraine: Russia's parliamentary election includes residents of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow declared part of Russia after its full-scale invasion. It is the first time residents of those regions have been included in a Russian State Duma election since the war began.

Ukraine has condemned the voting as illegal, while Ukrainian human rights groups have accused Russian authorities of pressuring residents in the occupied areas to take part. The European Union has also rejected the voting in the occupied territories.

Voting across Russia began on September 18 and will continue until September 20. However, voting in the Russian-held parts of Ukraine and some areas on the Russian side of the border started earlier because of security concerns.

The four regions are Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Russian authorities say they have more than 3.5 million voters. Moscow declared the regions annexed in September 2022, even though Russian forces did not have full control over them. The annexations have not been recognized internationally.

Voting is also taking place in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014.

At a polling station in the Russian-controlled part of Donetsk, voters placed ballots in a box while an armed Russian soldier stood nearby.

Russian President Vladimir Putin highlighted the importance of voting in the four regions for the State Duma, the lower house of parliament. He said residents there were voting for the Duma for the first time since Moscow's declaration of the territories' incorporation into Russia.

Russian soldiers involved in the war are also taking part in the election.

The Kremlin has presented the wartime election as a demonstration of unity and support for its policies.

"Your choice and resolve will once again demonstrate that millions of people stand behind our fighters, that we are a united people, bound by shared values, historical memory, and love for the Motherland, and that nobody can divide or intimidate us, undermine our statehood and political system," Putin said.

Ukrainian authorities have urged foreign governments and international organizations not to recognize the voting in the occupied territories. Kyiv has also warned Ukrainians that helping organize the election could lead to criminal charges under Ukrainian law.

A group of nine Ukrainian human rights organizations called on residents of the Russian-controlled territories to stay away from the polls. The group said residents should protect their safety and health and argued that Russia was using the election process to support its claims over Ukrainian territory.

Violeta Artemchuk, coordinator of the Donbas SOS human rights group and one of the people who signed the statement, said local election officials were visiting homes with Russian troops and security officers.

She said Russian-appointed authorities were putting pressure on residents by threatening public-sector workers with dismissal if they did not vote. She also said pensions and other social payments were being linked to participation.

Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst with the Kyiv-based Penta Center, criticized the voting process, saying that elections held under armed control could not be considered genuine.