Russia's ruling pro-Putin party on track to win wartime election after drones strike Moscow

Russia's ruling party, United Russia, was on track to win a parliamentary election, according to partial results. The election was seen as a test of support for the war in Ukraine by President Putin.

An exit poll published by a state-run pollster showed United Russia on course to win 49.4 per cent of the vote, around the same as in the previous election, according to the South China Morning Post. The election included residents of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed after the war began, but still doesn't fully control, as reported by PBS NewsHour.

Drone attacks were launched on Moscow and the surrounding region on the final day of voting, killing two people and setting an oil refinery ablaze, officials said. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin described it as one of the biggest attacks, with 450 drones aimed directly at the capital. Russia's defence ministry accused Ukraine of attempting to “disrupt the democratic will of Russian citizens” and vowed a response, saying it would “continue and intensify its high-accuracy strikes against military targets in Kyiv”.

Brief written by urgent.news from CNBC, CNBC World, South China Morning Post, PBS NewsHour, Hellenic Shipping News — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.