Putin’s United Russia Leads Election as Cyberattacks, Drone Strikes Hit Vote
MOSCOW, RUSSIA — WEB DESK: President Vladimir Putin’s ruling United Russia party was on course to retain its dominance of Russia’s parliament on Monday, according to partial results from an election overshadowed by cyberattacks, restrictions on anti-war opposition and a major Ukrainian drone assault on Moscow.
With just over 71% of ballots counted, United Russia had secured about 57.5% of the vote, according to results reported by Russian news agencies. The Communist Party was running second with around 14%, followed by the nationalist LDPR at approximately 8.7%.
State news agency TASS projected that United Russia would retain a two-thirds majority in the 450-seat State Duma, which would preserve its ability to approve constitutional amendments. Final official results were still pending at the time of the initial reports.
Reuters separately reported that United Russia was on track to retain control of parliament, while turnout was close to 57%. The three-day election was Russia’s first State Duma vote since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The election took place in a tightly controlled political environment. The liberal Yabloko party, which had called for an end to the fighting in Ukraine, was removed from the federal party-list ballot by Russia’s Supreme Court before voting. Voting was also conducted in Ukrainian territories occupied and claimed by Moscow, whose annexation is not internationally recognised by most countries.
Election infrastructure also came under digital attack. Central Election Commission chair Ella Pamfilova said authorities recorded more than 1,000 waves of distributed denial-of-service attacks against infrastructure connected to the electoral process. She did not identify who was responsible for the attacks.
The final day of voting was further disrupted by a major Ukrainian drone assault on Moscow and surrounding areas. Russian authorities described it as the largest such attack on the capital since the war began. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said about 450 drones targeted the capital during a wider wave involving around 1,600 drones. Russian authorities reported fatalities and damage, including at an oil refinery.
Russia accused Ukraine of trying to disrupt the election and said it would intensify strikes against military targets in Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the impact of Ukraine’s long-range operations in the Moscow region.
Putin had encouraged Russians to participate in the vote and presented the election as an expression of support for the country and its armed forces. Opposition figures abroad, meanwhile, organised symbolic protests, while Ukraine rejected the legitimacy of voting held in occupied Ukrainian territory.
The partial results indicate continued parliamentary dominance for United Russia, but final seat allocations and official nationwide results remain necessary before the composition of the new State Duma is confirmed.
