Parliamentary election in times of war: Voting in Russia ends - how does Putin's party fare?
President Putin wants his course of war to be confirmed. In the three-day election to the State Duma, only parties close to the Kremlin are on the ballot. Election observers report some irregularities.
Russia's three-day parliamentary election has ended, with President Vladimir Putin seeking to confirm his aggressive stance towards Ukraine. The ruling party, "United Russia", is expected to win a two-thirds majority despite economic crisis, war fatigue, and widespread discontent. The election was held in occupied Ukrainian regions, including Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, as well as the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed in 2014.
The Ukrainian government has denounced the vote as illegitimate, citing reports of voters being coerced at gunpoint and manipulated election results.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
