{"id":4814,"date":"2026-09-21T00:09:04","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T00:09:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=4814"},"modified":"2026-09-21T00:09:04","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T00:09:04","slug":"polls-close-in-russian-wartime-election-with-ruling-party-set-to-dominate-russia-ukraine-war-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=4814","title":{"rendered":"Polls close in Russian wartime election with ruling party set to dominate | Russia-Ukraine war News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has cast the vote as a test of support for his ongoing war in Ukraine.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Published On 20 Sep 2026<\/span>20 Sep 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Polls have closed in Russia\u2019s first wartime parliamentary elections, with the ruling United Russia party on course to win the tightly controlled vote.<\/p>\n

The Kremlin wants the elections, the first parliamentary vote since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, to showcase popular support for the war and legitimise its action.<\/p>\n

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Russian government officials accused Ukraine of trying to disrupt voting after Kyiv launched hundreds of drones at Moscow<\/a> and other regions in what the TASS state news agency said was the biggest attack of its kind since the war began.<\/p>\n

The drone strikes on Sunday killed at least three people in the Moscow region and two more in the Russian-held part of Ukraine\u2019s Kherson region, including an election official, according to the region\u2019s governor and the election commission.<\/p>\n

Russian authorities also reported attacks on the country\u2019s electronic voting systems<\/a> and communication lines during the polls, but said the electoral process was mostly smooth.<\/p>\n

Initial results showed the United Russia party comfortably ahead, and Russia\u2019s Central Election Commission said turnout at the close of polls stood at 56.66 percent.<\/p>\n

The first official results and turnout are expected on Monday morning.<\/p>\n

Voting in Russian-held Ukrainian areas<\/h2>\n

The vote, which began on Friday for 111 million eligible voters, included residents of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed after the war began, but still doesn\u2019t fully control, as well as those in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.<\/p>\n

Authorities in Kyiv denounced the voting in the Russian-held areas as illegal and urged foreign governments not to recognise the result. The European Union on Friday called the action a \u201cblatant violation of international law\u201d.<\/p>\n

Voters cast two separate ballots, filling half of the lower house\u2019s 450 seats by selecting political parties listed on the ballot. The rest are contested in single-seat constituencies, with voters choosing individual candidates.<\/p>\n

The main Kremlin party, United Russia, is widely expected to retain its overwhelming control of the State Duma. Several smaller parties of the \u201csystemic opposition\u201d that vote in sync with Putin\u2019s views on all key issues are also expected to maintain their presence.<\/p>\n

A massive state media campaign and tight control over the elections in the absence of genuine opposition all but assure the Kremlin will keep tight control of Russian politics amid mounting economic costs and increasing Ukrainian drone attacks deep inside the country.<\/p>\n

The liberal Yabloko party, the only registered political entity that dared to publicly criticise the war, was removed from the ballot last month by Russia\u2019s Supreme Court. It only has a few dozen candidates in the single-constituency races.<\/p>\n

Additionally, some anti-war politicians were imprisoned or forced to flee abroad ahead of the campaign.<\/p>\n

Russia didn\u2019t invite election observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The Russian Foreign Ministry has accused the body of \u201cdouble standards\u201d for its criticism of Russia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Russian President Vladimir Putin has cast the vote as a test of support for his ongoing war in Ukraine. Published On 20 Sep 202620 Sep 2026 Polls have closed in Russia\u2019s first wartime parliamentary elections, with the ruling United Russia party on course to win the tightly controlled vote. The Kremlin wants the elections, the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t