Russia began holding local elections in Russian-occupied Ukraine in an attempt to strengthen Moscow’s power.

Voting is taking place in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, despite the fact that Russia does not fully control any of them, Sky News reports.

Vladimir Putin has chosen governors from among veteran pro-Russian politicians and those known to be running for office, and they face nominal opposition.

“[Oficialii instalați de Rusia] they will go from apartment to apartment, as it was before, communicate with people,” said the Ukrainian mayor of Mariupol, Vadym Boychenko.

“There are two soldiers with assault rifles nearby and they are telling people to vote,” he claims.

He noted that voter lists and candidate lists are not used in the city of Donetsk.

In the apartment complex, a stream of residents came to vote, showing the officials their recently issued Russian passports, while policemen stood nearby.

“It is clear that there is no trust on the part of the people in this process, which should be called fictitious elections,” Boychenko said in an interview in Kyiv.