Vladimir Putin’s ruling United Russia party secured a dominant majority in Russia’s State Duma elections, according to results published by state media. The vote marked the first parliamentary contest held since Moscow launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and took place amid drone strikes and cyberattacks.
Election Results and State Duma Projections
According to results reported by Russian news agencies after just over 71 percent of ballots were counted, United Russia captured 57.5 percent of the popular vote. The Communist Party and LDPR nationalists trailed behind, securing 14 percent and 8.7 percent of the vote respectively. State agency TASS projections indicate that the ruling party remains on course to retain its two-thirds majority across the 450 seats in the lower house, giving the party the legislative power required to amend the Russian constitution.
An exit poll published by a state-run pollster showed United Russia tracking at 49.4 percent, aligning closely with its performance in the previous election. Voter turnout during the contest served as a barometer of public sentiment regarding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin had actively urged citizens to cast ballots, framing the election publicly as a show of support for Russian troops.
Security Disruptions and Drone Attacks on Moscow
The final day of voting on Sunday was disrupted by a wave of Ukrainian drone attacks targeting Moscow and the surrounding region. According to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, the assault involved approximately 1,600 drones overall, with 450 directed explicitly at the capital. The strikes resulted in two deaths—a 44-year-old woman and an elderly man—across separate locations, according to Moscow regional Governor Andrey Vorobyov. A drone crash triggered a fire in a 21-storey residential building, forcing the emergency evacuation of 400 residents, while another strike set an oil refinery ablaze.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the army would continue and intensify high-accuracy strikes against military targets in Kyiv in response to what it characterized as attacks on civilian targets meant to disrupt the democratic will of Russian citizens. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the long-range operations, stating that Ukrainian responses had a significant impact in the Moscow region.
Political Exclusion and Opposition Protests
Independent political opposition faced institutional barriers ahead of the ballot. No political parties opposed to the war were permitted to run, after Russia’s Supreme Court removed the liberal Yabloko party from the federal ballot weeks prior to the vote, though some individual candidates remained in single-mandate constituencies. The Kremlin’s chief political opponents have been driven into exile, and Alexei Navalny died in an Arctic prison in 2024.
In a final act of localized protest, Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, urged anti-war Russians to participate in a coordinated action by gathering at polling stations collectively at noon on Sunday. AFP reporters observed dozens of opposition support in Berlin and London.
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