United Russia Leads; Ukraine Strikes Moscow With Drones — SkimNews
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- United Russia led with 57.5% of the vote in partial results, trailed by the Communists, LDPR, New People, and Just Russia — all of which vote identically with United Russia on major issues.
- Ukraine launched what TASS called the war's biggest drone attack, with Russia's Defence Ministry reporting nearly 2,000 drones and eight cruise missiles fired across multiple regions in 24 hours.
- The Moscow region suffered three deaths from the strikes, while two more died in Russian-held Kherson — including an election official — and a Moscow oil refinery facility was damaged.
- Russia's Defence Ministry pledged to intensify strikes on Ukrainian military targets in response, after also reporting it had downed the incoming drones and cruise missiles.
- Central Election Commission data showed turnout reached nearly 57% by early evening Moscow time.
- Yabloko party leader Nikolai Rybakov publicly spoiled his ballot with "For peace," while two senior party figures received long jail terms before the vote for comments about the conflict.
- The NEST think-tank in Berlin warned Communist and New People parties could siphon votes from United Russia, citing accumulated anxiety over the war's economic toll.
Why it matters: The Kremlin frames this vote as a mandate for the war, but with anti-war candidates jailed and all major parties voting identically with United Russia, the NEST think-tank warns accumulated anxiety over the war's economic toll is translating into votes for tolerated opposition parties.
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