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United Russia wins more than 57% of the vote in Russia's wartime Duma election
September 21, 2026
With nearly all votes counted, United Russia, the party loyal to Vladimir Putin, holds more than 57% in the election for the State Duma, Russia's lower house.
The State Duma is the lower house of Russia's parliament, where the pro-Putin United Russia party holds a dominant position, and Russia annexed Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in September 2022.
Key facts
- Russian officials count more than 3.5 million voters in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which Russia annexed in September 2022 without international recognition.
- One person said, "I don't think the Duma will change. They'll vote 100% for the policies of Putin just like they did."
- A new law permits tariffs as high as 100 percent on big purchasers of Russian oil, among them China and India.
- Kyiv condemned Russia for holding parliamentary voting in the Ukrainian regions it annexed, with Ukrainian officials calling it illegal, and the European Commission called the poll a flagrant breach of international law.
- Luxembourg is working with Nato allies on the incident, Luc Frieden said, at a time of growing European concern over Russian hybrid attacks.
Reuters reports that near complete results give United Russia, the ruling party that backs Vladimir Putin, more than 57% of the vote in the wartime election for the State Duma. Al Jazeera corroborates the outcome and describes the ruling party as dominant in early results. The Guardian reports that Putin has stressed the importance of voting in the annexed Ukrainian regions, in a poll meant to demonstrate public backing for the war, with United Russia widely expected to keep its dominance. The BBC calls the outcome predictable. Nikolai Rybakov, who chairs the Yabloko party, told the BBC, "What other result can there be if there were ten parties on the ballot and they all support the policies of Putin?" The BBC and Al Jazeera report that Russia's Supreme Court struck Yabloko, the lone registered party that had criticised the war in public, off the ballot last month.
The voting took place under fire. The Guardian and Al Jazeera report that Sunday's drone strikes left at least three people dead in the Moscow region and two dead in Russian-controlled Kherson, an election official among them, citing the governor and the election commission. Russian officials charged that Ukraine was trying to derail the vote after Kyiv sent hundreds of drones toward Moscow and other regions, which Russian state media called the largest such attack since the start of the war, as the BBC and Al Jazeera also report. The Guardian adds that Russian authorities said voting systems and communication lines came under attack across the country on Saturday, and that Putin has blamed Ukraine for meddling in the vote without offering evidence, while Kyiv has dismissed the election as farcical.
The Guardian reports that Russian authorities count more than 3.5 million voters in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which Russia annexed in September 2022 without international recognition. Kyiv condemned the voting there as illegal and asked foreign governments to withhold recognition of the result, according to The Guardian and Al Jazeera, and the European Commission called the inclusion of the annexed regions a flagrant breach of international law. The Guardian also quotes Violeta Artemchuk, who coordinates the rights group Donbas SOS, as saying that local election commission members were visiting homes alongside Russian soldiers and security agents to compel people to vote, and it reports that Ukrainians were warned that helping to organise the Duma vote could expose them to criminal liability. Al Jazeera notes that Russia did not invite OSCE election observers. The emphasis differs without changing the facts. The BBC reports from a polling station inside Russia, near an oil refinery, where voters discussed the attack, while The Guardian gives more room to the annexed territories and to Ukrainian objections. The outlets agree on United Russia's dominance, on Yabloko's absence from the ballot and on the drone attacks during the voting. What the Kremlin does with the result is open, and the BBC notes deep anxiety in Russian society about a new round of mobilisation, even though Putin recently ruled one out.
Nikolai Rybakov, chairman of the Yabloko party, said, "What other result can there be if there were ten parties on the ballot and they all support the policies of Putin?"
Still developing
The possibility of a new round of mobilisation, which President Putin recently ruled out, remains a deep anxiety in Russian society.
How settled the reporting is
Sources
- Reuters — Russia's ruling pro-Putin party wins wartime election with over 57% of vote, near complete results show | Reuters
- BBC — Russia's elections had few surprises
- The Guardian — Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv denounces Russia’s inclusion of annexed regions in parliamentary elections
- Al Jazeera — Ruling party dominates early results in Russia’s wartime parliamentary vote | Russia-Ukraine war News | Al Jazeera
Toggle read the full reports of all 4 outlets counted on this event.