Putin's ruling party wins wartime Russian election

Russia’s ruling United Russia party has won a parliamentary election that President Vladimir Putin presented as a referendum on support for the war in Ukraine. With more than 95% of votes counted, the party had secured 57.83% of the vote, up from 49.8% in 2021, according to the Central Election Commission. The result would give United Russia 355 seats in the 450seat State Duma, preserving its constitutional majority. Several other parties cleared the threshold for parliament, but they have generally backed the government on major issues. Election officials said turnout reached 59.3%, which they described as a record for the contest. Opposition voices said the vote was heavily restricted. Antiwar candidates were largely kept off the ballot, the liberal Yabloko party failed to win national seats, and Ukraine dismissed the election as illegitimate. Russian authorities also said the vote was disrupted by drone strikes and cyberattacks, though they said the process remained mostly smooth.