As Russians cast ballots on the final day of a parliamentary election framed by President Vladimir Putin as a referendum on the war in Ukraine, Kyiv unleashed what Moscow’s mayor described as the largest drone assault yet on the Russian capital.
The strikes left four people dead across two regions, according to Russian officials: two in the Moscow region and two in the Russian-held part of Ukraine’s Kherson region, including an election official. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin also said a facility at Moscow’s oil refinery — previously targeted — was damaged.
“The biggest attack by enemy drones has been repelled,” Mr Sobyanin said on Telegram.
“This unprecedented attack was clearly planned with the aim of disrupting the elections. The enemy did not succeed.”
The State Duma election is the first since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It is widely expected to cement the dominance of the ruling United Russia party in a political system that critics say leaves little space for dissent.
The Kremlin is expected to tout the result as a sign of public endorsement for Mr Putin’s course — and for the war, now in its fifth year with no indication it will end soon.
Election officials said voting across the three-day period had been orderly, despite cyberattacks reported yesterday. Turnout had exceeded 50% by early afternoon Moscow time, Interfax news agency reported, citing the Central Election Commission.
Most anti-war candidates were blocked from running. Those who did appear on the ballot under the liberal Yabloko party — which has polled in the single digits in recent years but hoped to draw support from voters weary of the conflict — said they feared for their freedom after courts handed long prison terms to two senior party figures before the vote for comments about the war.
Under Russian law, discrediting the army or spreading what authorities describe as fake news can result in lengthy jail sentences.
In a small, pointed gesture, Yabloko leader Nikolai Rybakov visibly invalidated his ballot, writing his party’s name and the slogan “For peace”.
The Kremlin argues that national unity — and some censorship — are necessary during what it calls a special military operation in Ukraine. It portrays the conflict, described as Europe’s deadliest since World War Two, as an existential confrontation with a hostile West, and says Ukrainian intelligence services and other adversaries are intensifying efforts to provoke unrest inside Russia.
Permitted opposition parties could benefit
Russian election officials said yesterday that Moscow’s online voting platform had been targeted by a cyberattack. Kyiv, which has suspended elections under martial law, has dismissed the Russian vote as a “pseudo election”.
Mr Putin on Friday also accused Ukraine of attempting to influence the election, pointing to what he said was a Ukrainian strike on Tuesday that killed an election official at her home in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region. Reuters could not independently verify the details of the attack, and Kyiv did not comment.
Even with what analysts view as a foregone conclusion, the Berlin-based NEST think-tank — co-founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who has been designated by Russian authorities as “a foreign agent” — said the vote could still generate uncomfortable moments for the Kremlin amid mounting economic pressure.
A woman casting her ballot in the Donetsk region of Russian-controlled Ukraine earlier this week
“The consequences of the war are increasingly being felt within the country, and accumulated anxiety and frustration may translate into votes for the systemic opposition parties that the Kremlin has allowed to remain on the ballot,” it said in a note.
It said the Communist party and the New People party could pick up support that officials would rather see flow to United Russia — even though both parties have consistently backed United Russia on major votes.
In a televised address ahead of the election, Mr Putin told viewers the ballot would reaffirm support for Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.
“Your choice, and your will, will once again demonstrate that millions of people stand behind our soldiers, that we are a united people bound together by shared values, historical memory, and love for our homeland, and that no one will succeed in dividing or intimidating us,” said Putin.
Early results are expected to begin appearing this evening, with fuller returns due tomorrow.
Four killed in Kyiv
In Ukraine, the death toll from an overnight attack on the Kyiv region rose to four, while drones striking the Russian capital and surrounding areas killed at least two people.
Kyiv regional authorities said today that three children were among those killed.
Emergency services said a Russian drone strike hit a private home in the Kyiv region, killing a mother and her two three-year-old children.
Seperately, Kyiv regional governor Tymur Tkachanko said a girl died in hospital after a drone strike in another district.
Mr Tkachanko said the region endured more than a day of hostile attacks, with 31 sites damaged in five districts.
He said the southwestern Fastiv district sustained the most damage, with 24 sites hit — including homes, industrial and utility buildings, the grounds of an agricultural enterprise, and vehicles.
Russia has in recent weeks repeatedly attacked Kyiv and the surrounding Kyiv region with drones.
