Putin's party to retain power after election day attacks

Vladimir Putin's ruling United Russia party secured a substantial victory in Russia's parliamentary elections, which were marred by cyberattacks and Ukrainian drone strikes, according to official results published by state media. The election, the first since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, was held to elect all members of the lower house, the State Duma.

No party opposing the war was permitted to field candidates, as Russia's Supreme Court removed the anti-war Yabloko party from the ballot weeks prior to the vote. Ukraine participated in the elections in the occupied and annexed Ukrainian territories. The turnout could serve as an indicator of public sentiment towards the ongoing conflict, which has been Europe's deadliest since World War II.

As of over 71% of ballots being counted, United Russia had garnered 57.5% of the vote, while the Communist Party and the LDPR nationalists trailed with 14% and 8.7% respectively. The ruling party is on track to retain its two-thirds majority of the 450 seats in the State Duma, which would allow it to amend the constitution, based on projections by the state agency TASS.

The first official results and turnout will be released early today. Earlier, Ukrainian drones struck Moscow and its surroundings on the final day of voting, resulting in two deaths and an oil refinery being set ablaze. Russia vowed to intensify its strikes on Kyiv in response, accusing Ukraine of attempting to disrupt the democratic will of Russian citizens.

An exit poll conducted by a state-run pollster predicted United Russia would win 49.4% of the vote, similar to its performance in the previous election. Russia's defence ministry stated that the attacks on Kyiv were in retaliation for the regime's assaults on civilian targets within Russia. The Ukrainian attack was the largest on Moscow since the war began and involved approximately 1,600 drones, with around 450 aimed directly at the capital.

Images captured a significant breach in a multi-story apartment building on the outskirts of the capital and black smoke emanating from a suspected oil refinery. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commended the attacks, claiming that their long-range responses significantly impacted the Moscow region. Diplomatic efforts to resolve the war have not stopped the escalation of mutual strikes, and President Zelensky spoke by phone with US President Donald Trump, who has recently urged Kyiv to cease its attacks on Russian refineries. The two are anticipated to meet in New York in the coming days.