Russia touts candidates who fought in Ukraine for its wartime parliamentary election

They lead party tickets, star in campaign videos and appear in televised debates. They are Russians who have fought in Ukraine, and they feature prominently in this week’s parliamentary election.

Election officials say nearly 200 candidates have served in Ukraine, and the Kremlin touts them as part of Russia’s “true elite” — its effort to show that veterans of the 4 1/2-year-old war will have an honored place in civilian life.

But few analysts believe that most of them will ever hold any real power among the country’s ruling class, dismissing the effort as a way to lure more volunteers to fight.

Independent Russian media regularly report about returning veterans involved in assaults, drunken brawls and even killings. Some of those crimes were committed by men who were recruited into the military from prison.

The vote that begins Friday for the State Duma — the lower house of parliament — is the first since the war began, and also will take place in areas of Ukraine that Russia captured and illegally annexed. The Kremlin is tightly managing the election, seeking to reinforce its narrative of widespread support for the war and provide a veneer of legitimacy for its actions.

Most of the Kremlin-aligned parties allowed on the ballot have candidates identified as participants in the SVO — the Russian acronym for its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

One prominent candidate is Vladislav Golovin, 29, of the ruling United Russia party, who fought in the battle for the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol and lost part of his leg. He has appeared at events with President Vladimir Putin, who made him a Hero of Russia, the country's highest honor.

In 2024, Golovin took part in Putin's “Time of Heroes” program that prepares veterans for government careers. He now heads a military and patriotic youth organization, the Young Army — but also has been put on Western sanctions lists.

United Russia has several dozen candidates with a Ukraine war background. Another of its leading candidates is Yevgeny Poddubny, a well-connected state TV war correspondent who was wounded by a Ukrainian drone.

The ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party has a top candidate in Alexei Vereshchagin, who is described as having joined the Moscow-backed separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and leading a brigade of volunteers.

“We are the ones our homeland has called upon to fight for the ‘Russian World,’ and we will fight,” Vereshchagin, who was born in Kyiv, said in a campaign video, using a term popularized by Putin, especially after Moscow illegally annexed Crimea in 2014.

Ukrainian police in March posted a photo of what appeared to be Vereshchagin and said they were investigating him for his role in home invasions and threatening civilians in the Kyiv region in 2022 before Ukrainian forces retook the area. They said he fought against Ukraine for over a decade. He hasn’t publicly commented on the allegations.

By promoting veterans in the State Duma campaign, the Kremlin wants to show potential recruits that they would be fighting “for some higher cause, and that they have bright prospects ahead of them in the form of a career lift,” said Nikolay Petrov, senior research fellow at the NEST Centre, founded by exiled Russian tycoon and opposition figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

But Russia also “doesn’t know what to do” with those returning from the battlefield, Petrov told The Associated Press, and so it offers them largely insignificant positions with little real power, while focusing on promoting those who already held public office.

Former Putin speechwriter-turned-political analyst Abbas Gallyamov was more blunt, calling it “empty talk.”

To lure more men into enlisting, “you need to promise them everything they want to hear, from promises of payments to flattery and stories of their special greatness, their contribution to the cause of building a new Russia,” Gallyamov told AP.

The postwar path is not simple for many veterans. Most of those who signed military contracts cannot terminate them under Putin’s 2022 “partial mobilization” decree, and those who were drafted that year have not yet been demobilized, either.

Those who are severely injured or have reached a certain age can be discharged, and some special units reportedly offer limited tours of duty.

About 167,000 servicemen have returned from Ukraine, presidential administration official Sergei Novikov said in December, although Russian media reports and experts say the number is probably higher.

The competition for the Time of Heroes program is fierce and requires higher education and management experience. Out of over 65,000 applicants in 2024-25, only 168 were accepted, according to its website. Of them, some 80 were appointed to various positions on national, regional or municipal levels.

The independent Russian news outlet Meduza reported in June that at least 1,300 veterans have been appointed to government posts, were elected to local legislatures and councils, or got jobs in state-backed companies or institutions. About 850 of those had some kind of government or related experience before serving, Meduza said, concluding that most beneficiaries were already part of the ruling class.

AP was unable to independently verify those findings, but reports about government officials or lawmakers serving in Ukraine and then returning to their civilian careers are common.

Duma deputy Alexei Zhuravlyov, head of the Rodina, or “Homeland” party, has reported serving at the front while keeping his seat as a lawmaker, like some of his colleagues. He recently lashed out at a YouTube blogger who wondered why he's not fighting full-time in Ukraine. Zhuravlyov said later that he spends “more time on the front line than in the Duma.”

Tambov regional Gov. Yevgeny Pervyshov, a United Russia candidate who also was the former mayor of his native Krasnodar and did a stint as a Duma lawmaker, served in Ukraine as part of a special military unit in 2022.

The U.K. government described his unit in 2024 as having “an unusually high number of United Russia party members and sons of Kremlin VIPs.” In a post on X, the British Defense Ministry said the unit is predominantly involved in drone operations far from the front, allowing elite political figures “to sidestep usual Russian military service requirements with guaranteed safety.”

After a tour of less than a year, Pervyshov was accepted into the Time of Heroes program and later was appointed Tambov's acting governor before being elected governor in September 2025.

Ivan Filippov, who studies propaganda and analyzes military and pro-war bloggers, says such examples fuel disappointment in the pro-war community, which initially was enthusiastic about Putin’s promise of a new “elite.”

“They were very happy when he said those words, but it turned out rather quickly that it’s not about (genuine) veterans,” he told AP. Rather, he added, it's about some who went to the battlefield once, “fired a howitzer, got their veteran credentials” and returned to office.

Now, war hawks understand that returning troops will face “a difficult life” when returning home, he said.

“They understand clearly that no one will let them into power,” Filippov said.

Novikov, the Kremlin official, said in December that “tens of thousands” of returning veterans remain jobless, and it “forms a dangerous risk zone.”

When it comes to putting veterans in positions of power, the Kremlin naturally prefers “rational bureaucrats” who did a stint in the armed forces, said Petrov, the analyst.

“The authorities don’t at all need bandits that come back from there,” he added.

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Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed.

FILE - A sign reading "Vote online, reliable, affordable, simple" for Russia's parliamentary election is displayed at a bus stop in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, with a billboard in the background showing a soldier with the words "Russia's Pride." (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, foreground right, speaks with members of the military in the Kremlin in Moscow on Friday, June 12, 2026, as Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, right, stands nearby. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - Vladislav Golovin, one of the leaders of the United Russia political party, attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, congratulates Stepan Belov, who was named a Hero of Russia, during a meeting with participants of the "Time of Heroes" project designed to help veterans become government administrators, at a venue outside Solnechnogorsk, Russia, on Friday, June 14, 2024. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, greets Vladislav Golovin, right, during a meeting with the leaders of the United Russia political party as Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova, center, and military correspondent Yevgeny Poddubny, second right, in Moscow on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

The clock is ticking toward an unusual deadline in the NHL, and teams with players relevant to it are rushing to beat the final horn.

The new collective bargaining agreement goes into effect at midnight, at which time a seven-year contract will be the longest a player can re-sign with his own team — and six years in free agency. The final eight-year deals are getting done Tuesday.

Washington locked up Ryan Leonard for $84 million starting with the 2027-28 season. Making an average of $10.5 million a year through 2035, he will match new Capitals teammate Alex Tuch, who also got eight years in a sign-and-trade with Buffalo, for the highest-paid player on the team when Leonard's new deal kicks in.

“Ryan is a young and talented player who is still years away from entering his prime, and we believe he has tremendous potential to continue growing into an important player for our organization,” general manager Chris Patrick said in announcing Leonard's contract. “While reaching his full potential will take time, we have been impressed with his work ethic and the way he continues to develop his game. We are confident in Ryan’s ability to continue improving as a hockey player, and we believe this agreement provides him with the opportunity to grow and develop within our organization, while giving us the ability to keep a talented young player in our lineup for years to come.”

Leonard, a 21-year-old winger, is going into his second full NHL season after breaking in during the spring of 2025. This contract cements his place as part of the Capitals' young, post-Alex Ovechkin core, which is expected to also include brothers Ilya and Aliaksei Protas.

Washington forward Justin Sourdif also got an eight-year extension before the deadline: $50.8 million, for an annual cap hit of $6.35 million. Sourdif will be 25 when it goes into effect.

“Justin is a good young forward who has continued to develop steadily throughout his career,” Patrick said. “He is versatile and demonstrated his ability to play an important forward role for our team whenever the opportunity arose last season. ... We believe he has a bright future ahead of him and are confident that he will continue to make valuable contributions to our organization in the coming years.”

Ottawa signed Drake Batherson for $86 million, which is the most lucrative contract in Senators history. The previous record was Tim Stützle's eight-year, $66.8 million extension from September 2022.

Batherson will count $10.75 million against the salary cap starting in 2027, surpassing Stützle’s $8.35 million. He'll be 29 at that point.

“He was drafted and developed by our organization and has shown a commitment to wanting to be in Ottawa long term,” GM Steve Staios said of Batherson. “We view him as a key part of our core group.”

Batherson has set career highs in scoring each of the past seven seasons, topping out at 71 last year. He is just the second player in league history to do that seven times in a row, joining Vic Stasiuk from 1953-54 to '59-60 with Detroit.

Since the NHL and the NHL Players' Association came to an agreement on this CBA in late June 2025, 34 players have signed eight-year contracts. Thirteen of those have come in the past three months, including Colorado's Cale Makar setting the record for the most money at $163.2 million.

After being flat or nearly flat coming out of the pandemic, the salary cap is the middle of a series of record increases, now that revenues have caught up and are skyrocketing. The cap went from $95.5 million last season to $104 million this season and will be $113.5 million in 2027-28, when most of these new contracts will go into effect.

Philadelphia signing Anaheim’s Leo Carlsson to an offer sheet in July that made him the highest-paid player in the sport at $18 million a year — which the Ducks matched to keep him — led to a spike in salaries this summer.

Vegas center Jack Eichel, who is now making $13.5 million on his long-term contract signed last October, said agent Pat Brisson told him about what was coming and they had talks with NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh and others at the union and decided to go the full eight years anyway.

“It’s an incredible deal for me and my family, and we’re super grateful for the organization and the city believing in us,” Eichel said last week. “There’s no signer's remorse. Yeah, I'm a happy guy.”

Eichel led the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup in 2023. He and fellow standouts such as Makar, Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov, and Florida teammates Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad are proven commodities.

Many of the young players getting eight-year deals this offseason are team gambles of varying degrees.

As recently as Monday, Buffalo signed 22-year-old center Noah Ostlund for $52.8 million, banking on his potential. Ostlund has played in just 71 games in the league thus far.

Pittsburgh signed Ville Koivunen for $32 million over eight years in August. He has 14 points in 42 career games.

Beginning Wednesday, no contract can have more than 60% paid in signing bonuses. New Jersey and defending champion Carolina each got a deal done just in time.

The Hurricanes signed captain and Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP Jordan Staal to a one-year extension, while the Devils extended recently acquired forward Luke Evangelista for five years and $36.25 million. Staal's contract is worth $900,000 in salary, with a $4 million signing bonus and up to $5.1 million in additional performance incentives.

“Jordan is not only our captain, he’s the bedrock of the culture we’ve established in this organization,” GM Eric Tulsky said. “His leadership and on-ice performance throughout last season and especially in the playoffs was a primary factor in bringing the Stanley Cup back to Raleigh.”

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

FILE - Ottawa Senators' Drake Batherson (19) celebrates his goal against the Carolina Hurricanes with teammate Nick Cousins (21) during the second period of an NHL hockey playoff game in Ottawa, Ontario, April 23, 2026. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

FILE - Washington Capitals right wing Ryan Leonard (9) in action during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Utah Mammoth, March 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)