United Russia Wins Bigger Duma Majority Amid War — SkimNews
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- United Russia is on course to retain its constitutional majority in the State Duma with preliminary results showing bigger numbers than last time, after more than four-and-a-half years of war on Ukraine that brought massive battlefield losses, economic strain, and recent petrol shortages from Ukrainian drone strikes.
- Yabloko, the only anti-war party permitted to take part, was struck off the party list by the Supreme Court just twelve days after registration, over Kremlin concern that its pro-peace message was gaining traction with the public.
- None of Yabloko's roughly 100 remaining individual constituency candidates won seats; party chairman Nikolai Rybakov told reporters some candidates were jailed, many were barred from running, and election observers were unregistered.
- Ukraine launched a large-scale drone attack on the Moscow area during the final day of the three-day election, killing three in Moscow Region and striking the capital's oil refinery.
- Voters near the hit refinery told reporters there was "no sense of surprise, more a quiet resignation," with one saying people near the Ukrainian border "hear this kind of thing every day."
- President Putin recently ruled out another mobilisation wave, though Russian society retains deep anxiety about the possibility; the Kremlin is expected to treat the result as a "mandate from the people" to continue the war.
Why it matters: The Kremlin now holds a formal electoral mandate to continue its war in Ukraine, with a Duma fully aligned behind Putin and no anti-war voice on the party list. The Yabloko removal reveals that even the one permitted anti-war party was deemed too threatening to remain on the ballot, leaving Russians with no electoral avenue to express opposition to the conflict.
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