Russia votes in parliamentary election as war in Ukraine drags on
Polls opened in Russia's Far East on Friday as the country began three days of voting for its parliamentary election, the first since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin's main party, United Russia, is poised to keep its grip on power alongside other parties aligned with President Vladimir Putin, as the only party that criticised the war was removed from the ballot.
According to Ukraine's General Staff, Russia has suffered approximately 1,514,910 casualties in its invasion of Ukraine since February 24, 2022. This includes 1,420 Russian casualties reported on September 18, 2023, as well as a significant number of losses in various military equipment, including tanks, armored vehicles, artillery systems, and aircraft.
The report does not disclose Ukraine's own losses, citing operational secrecy. Western think tanks, such as the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), estimate that Russia's casualties are roughly 2.5 to 1 or 2 to 1 compared to Ukraine's, with the latter suffering between 500,000 and 600,000 casualties from February 2022 to December 2025.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that at least 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in action since the invasion began.
Brief written by urgent.news from Kyiv Independent's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- Russia votes as Putin’s party dominates election amid Ukraine war iol.co.za
- General Staff: Russia has lost 1,514,910 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022 kyivindependent.com
- Russia likely to step up drone and missile attacks against countries supporting Ukraine – Tusk english.nv.ua
- Russia’s parliamentary election: Who’s on the ballot, and why it matters aljazeera.com
