United Russia Leads Russian Parliamentary Vote Amid Drone Strikes
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Partial results show United Russia ahead with about 57% of the vote in Russia's parliamentary election, while authorities report drone and missile attacks on Moscow and claim the voting process remained largely uninterrupted.
Partial official results released on Sunday indicated that United Russia, the ruling party, is on track to secure a clear majority in the State Duma, with an estimated 57.5% of the vote. Smaller parties aligned with the government, including the Communist Party, LDPR, New People and Just Russia, are projected to win seats but lag far behind the leading party.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council and former president, said United Russia had performed "with dignity" and that the outcome reflected public trust in the party's governance. The Central Election Commission reported a voter turnout of nearly 57% in Moscow as of early evening.
On the same day, Ukrainian forces launched a large-scale drone operation targeting Moscow and other regions, according to Russian state news agency TASS. The strikes resulted in five fatalities, including an election official in the Russian-occupied Kherson region, and damaged an oil refinery on Moscow’s outskirts. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin described the incident as an attempt to disrupt the election, while the Defence Ministry said it had downed almost 2,000 drones and intercepted eight cruise missiles in the preceding 24 hours.
Election officials also reported cyberattacks on voting systems but said the overall process proceeded smoothly. Opposition figures in exile called for a symbolic noon-day vote to register dissent, leading to longer queues at some polling stations, though the impact on the final tally remains unclear.
The Kremlin is expected to present the results as evidence of domestic support for President Vladimir Putin’s policies and the ongoing war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year. Critics note that most anti-war candidates have been barred from the ballot, and that liberal party Yabloko’s leader Nikolai Rybakov publicly spoiled his ballot as a protest.
International observers, including Ukrainian officials, have dismissed the election as a "pseudo-election." Analysts from the Berlin-based NEST think-tank warned that economic pressures and war-related discontent could boost votes for the limited opposition parties permitted to run.