Kyiv, Aug. 12 -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of manipulating upcoming parliamentary elections and planning a large-scale troop mobilisation after the polls to prolong the war in Ukraine.

In an address shared on X, Zelenskyy alleged that Moscow barred the anti-war Yabloko party from the ballot to stage "sham elections" and create a false appearance of domestic political support for the conflict.

"If Putin wants war so badly that he has now resorted to yet another blatant political manipulation with his sham elections, to the point that he was afraid to allow even a single party that said at least something about the need for peace on the ballot, and removed the Yabloko party, then ...