After the so-called “referendums” on the accession of the occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions to the Russian Federation, Russia began to systematically strengthen its control over those territories. In March 2024, the UN noted that Russia had created an atmosphere of fear in the TOT (temporarily occupied territories), which manifests itself, in particular, in the process of integrating the educational domain into the Russian system.

In this article, Civil Network OPORA analyzed how the position of Ukraine's partners has changed — from unwillingness to provide heavy weapons to the transfer of the first F-16 aircraft to Ukraine at the end of July 2024.

On February 8, the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation refused to register Boris Nadezhdin as a candidate for the post of the country's president due to the "forgery" of some of the collected signatures. His participation in the elections could be used to simulate a fair victory for Putin, improve his image in democratic states and avoid further international isolation. However, the refusal to register Nadezhdin, whom Western media have already called an "anti-war" candidate, is also designed to create a false impression that elections in Russia are held in accordance with laws and international norms.