Smoke billows from a refinery fire in Moscow, Russia, September 20, 2026, after what authorities say was a Ukrainian drone attack in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Stringer | Reuters
Ukraine launched what Moscow’s mayor called the largest drone strike ever on the Russian capital on Sunday, as Russians voted in the final days of parliamentary elections that President Vladimir Putin has cast as a test of support for the war in Ukraine.
Drone strikes killed two people in the Moscow region and two more, including an election worker, in the Russian-controlled region of Ukraine’s Kherson region, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and election authorities said. A refinery facility in Moscow, which was previously targeted, was also damaged.
“The largest attack by enemy drones has been repulsed,” Sobyanin said on Telegram. “This unprecedented attack was clearly designed to disrupt the election. Our adversaries were not successful.”
The State Duma vote, the first since Russia launched full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022, is expected to give the ruling United Russia party an easy lead in a political system criticized for not tolerating dissent.
The Kremlin is likely to present the results as evidence of the public’s support for Putin’s policies and the war, which is now in its fifth year and shows no signs of ending soon.
Officials said the three-day vote went smoothly despite reports of a cyberattack on Saturday. By early Sunday morning, voter turnout had exceeded 45% in the lower house vote and local elections, according to Ela Pamfilova, head of the Central Election Commission.
Russian citizens vote at a polling station located at the Russian Embassy during the elections for Russia’s 9th State Duma (lower house) in Minsk, Belarus.
Victor Tolochko | Sputnik (via Associated Press)
Most antiwar candidates were excluded from the vote. Those running for the liberal Yabloko party, which has polled in the single digits in recent years, hoped to capitalize on war fatigue and said they feared for their freedom after a court sentenced two party leaders to long prison terms before a vote to comment on the conflict.
Discrediting the military or spreading what authorities consider fake news carries long prison terms.
In an apparent act of defiance, Yabloko leader Nikolai Rybakov defaced the ballot paper with the party name and the slogan “For Peace” written on it.
The Kremlin insists on national unity and a degree of censorship during what it calls a special military operation in Ukraine. It frames the conflict, which was the deadliest in Europe after World War II, as part of an existential struggle against hostile Western powers. The Russian government said Ukrainian intelligence services and other adversaries were stepping up efforts to stoke unrest in Russia.
Allowed opposition parties may benefit
Russia’s election authorities announced on Saturday that Moscow’s online voting system had suffered a cyberattack. Kiev, which has suspended elections under martial law, dismissed the Russian vote as a “sham election.”
Putin also accused Ukraine on Friday of trying to interfere in the election, citing a Ukrainian attack on Tuesday in which an election official was killed at his home in the Russian-controlled region of Zaporizhzhya region. Reuters could not independently confirm details of the attack and received no comment from Kiev.
Although experts see the election outcome as expected, NEST, a Berlin think tank co-founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, said the vote could still create an awkward moment for the Kremlin amid economic tensions.
“The effects of the war are increasingly being felt in the country, and the accumulated anxiety and dissatisfaction may lead to votes for the established opposition, which the Kremlin has allowed to remain on the ballot paper,” the ministry said in a note.
The paper said the Communist Party and the New People’s Party could garner the votes authorities want for United Russia. Both parties have consistently voted in line with United Russia on key issues.
Putin told the nation in a televised address before the election that the vote would emphasize support for Russian troops fighting in Ukraine.
“Your choice and your will will demonstrate once again that millions of people support our soldiers and that we are a united people, bound by common values, historical memory and love for the Motherland, and that no one will divide us or threaten us,” Putin said.
Initial results will begin to be announced around 18:00 GMT on Sunday, with more complete results expected on Monday.
