Russian President Vladimir Putin's ruling United Russia party has won a large majority in the country's parliamentary elections, according to results published by state media. The election, held to elect members of the lower house State Duma, is the first since Moscow launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The results show United Russia taking 57.5 percent of the vote, with the Communist Party and LDPR nationalists trailing behind.
The election was marked by cyberattacks and a barrage of Ukrainian drone strikes, with Russia's electoral chief reporting over 1,000 waves of DDoS attacks against infrastructure involved in the electoral process. The attacks appeared to have been carried out by "highly professional, well-coordinated groups using artificial intelligence tools". Additionally, saboteurs severed communication lines in Russia's far east, in an apparent attempt to frustrate the voting.
No party opposed to the war was allowed to run, with Russia's Supreme Court removing the anti-war Yabloko party off the ballot weeks before the vote. However, Yabloko candidates remained on the ballot in some single-mandate constituencies. Putin had urged Russians to take part, casting the vote as a show of support for Moscow's troops and an "answer to those who want to weaken Russia".
The ruling party is on course to retain its two-thirds majority of the 450 seats in the State Duma, allowing it to amend the constitution, according to projections by the state agency TASS. An exit poll published by a state-run pollster showed United Russia on course to win 49.4 percent of the vote, close to the same amount it achieved in the previous election.
Ukraine fired waves of drones at Moscow and the surrounding region on the final day of voting, killing two people and setting an oil refinery ablaze, officials said. Russia vowed it would "intensify" its strikes on Kyiv in response, with the defence ministry accusing Ukraine of attempting to "disrupt the democratic will of Russian citizens". The Ukrainian attack was the largest on Moscow since the start of the war and involved around 1,600 drones.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the attacks, saying "our long-range responses had a very significant impact in the Moscow region last night". Zelensky also spoke by phone with US President Joe Biden, who has urged Kyiv to stop its attacks on Russian refineries. The pair are expected to meet in New York in the coming days. At least two people were killed in two separate locations, Moscow regional Governor Andrey Vorobyov said.
The Kremlin's chief political opponents have been driven into exile, while Putin's main rival, Alexei Navalny, died in an Arctic prison in 2024. Navalny's widow Yulia Navalnaya called on anti-war Russians to collectively cast their ballots at noon on Sunday, a tactic that drew crowds in the 2024 presidential election. In Berlin and London, reporters saw dozens of opposition supporters gathered outside Russian embassy buildings in protest at the vote.
Key points
- United Russia party wins large majority in parliamentary elections with 57.5 percent of the vote.
- Election marked by cyberattacks and Ukrainian drone strikes, with over 1,000 waves of DDoS attacks reported.
- Ruling party set to retain two-thirds majority in State Duma, allowing it to amend the constitution.
