The Russian Ministry of Defense has communicated that during the day on Sunday, 1,951 drone attacks and the launch of eight missiles by the Ukrainian Armed Forces against areas under Russian control were recorded. According to the Ministry itself, this would be the largest attack since the beginning of the war, coinciding with the third and final day of the Russian legislative elections, in which United Russia has prevailed with more than 57% of the votes.
The mayor of Moscow, Sergey Sobyanin, has denounced that Ukrainian forces have carried out the "largest drone attack" against the Russian capital, with the aim, he said, of "disrupting" the electoral day this Sunday, in which citizens were called to choose the new composition of the State Duma, the lower house of Parliament.
Sobyanin indicated in the afternoon that 450 unmanned aerial vehicles were targeting the Russian capital. Some of these drones managed to hit an oil refinery, although, as he specified, no fatalities have been recorded in these specific incidents.
For the president of the ruling party United Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, Russia has made "titanic and colossal efforts" against the elections. However, they have only managed to "unite the voters, unite our people." "This is probably the most important result of these elections," he pointed out, emphasizing that the attacks would not have managed to demobilize the electorate.
For its part, the Russian Ministry of Defense has stated that "the attempt of a massive attack against Moscow has failed and the enemy has not achieved its objectives," insisting that the majority of the drones and missiles would have been intercepted before reaching their targets.
Nevertheless, Russian authorities have confirmed the death of two people in the Moscow region and another two in the part of the Ukrainian region of Kherson under Russian control.
In Kherson, a polling station member identified as Olga Zimianenko has died and another person has died in a drone attack against a bus, according to the chairwoman of the Russian Central Electoral Commission, Ela Pamfilova.
Additionally, a "provoked fire" has occurred in a polling station in Komi, also in Kherson, according to Pamfilova's account, who added that the person allegedly responsible has already been detained.
The governor of the Moscow region, Anderi Vorobiov, has reported the downing of 249 Ukrainian drones in 17 districts of the area and has confirmed the death of two people in the districts of Orejovo-Zuyevski and Ramenski. Another 20 people have been injured, 15 of whom have had to be hospitalized or treated in medical centers.
All these attacks have taken place while the parliamentary elections that began last Friday were being held, the first since the start of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and in which for the first time polling stations have been set up in Ukrainian territories occupied by Russian forces.
United Russia consolidates its majority in the Duma
The ruling party United Russia has won the elections with 57.07% of the votes, according to the official data released by the Russian Central Electoral Commission corresponding to 20.82% of the counting.
Behind the formation of President Vladimir Putin is the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, with 14.04% of the votes, according to the information provided by the chairwoman of the Central Electoral Commission, Ela Pamfilova. In third place is the Liberal Democratic Party (9.31%), followed by New People (7.93%) and A Just Russia (5.14%).
Voter turnout has been at 56% until 20:08, the highest since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, despite the day being marked by attacks attributed to Ukraine, which have left at least four dead.
The voting began on Friday, September 18, and has continued until this Sunday. Of the 450 seats in the Duma, half are elected through party lists and the other half in single-member constituencies by direct election. Russian legislation sets a minimum threshold of 5% of the votes to access Parliament.
The Central Electoral Commission of Russia has indicated that by 13:37 on this Sunday, 50.46% of the electorate had already cast their vote. A new victory for the United Russia party is practically assured, which currently controls 315 of the 450 seats in the Chamber.