Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko tweeted a photo of himself flying over an unspecified part of the Donbas region early on election morning.
Wearing his army uniform and sitting next to a machine gunner, he stared meaningfully out from his military helicopter.
The image was clearly meant to show a president taking command of the security situation in the east, resolute and leading from the front.
The reality is that he is not in control of large parts of the east of his country, and in much of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions the president can't even touch down.
There will be no vote in rebel-held constituencies today.
The president has been criticised by some in Ukraine for not taking a strong enough line - for effectively ceding parts of the east to the separatists, and ultimately to Russian pressure.
Seven volunteer battalion commanders are standing for election themselves, urging a more direct, confrontational approach.
A resounding victory for Mr Poroshenko's bloc would be an endorsement, of sorts, of his handling of the crisis thus far - and his insistence that there can be no military solution to the conflict.
This election matters for a number of reasons.
Firstly, it's about breaking the links to the past - clearing out the politicians associated with ousted President Viktor Yanukovich and his now defunct 'Party of the Regions'.
The protesters on the Maidan last winter wanted a new politics in Ukraine - an end to the old order, and the old, corrupt way of doing business.
They want to see evidence of genuine change, not just the same old faces in parliament again.
This election is also about securing legitimacy for the future.
Ukraine's economy is in a parlous state. GDP is expected to fall by up to 10% for the year. Russia cut off gas supplies in a dispute over unpaid bills in June, and there is a long cold winter ahead.
Difficult times and unpopular decisions lie ahead - the new government will need to show it has a genuine democratic mandate to push them through.
There will be no voting in Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in March, or in the separatist-controlled constituencies of the east - the rebels will hold their own elections there next month.
But where the polls do open in areas of the south and the east - turnout will be the key - whether voters there feel they have anyone who represents them, that their voices can be heard.
After a year of revolution, conflict, and deep division, the new government needs to be able to show that it is a national government for all of Ukraine, not just for Kiev and the regions in the west.
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