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Russia holds nationwide Duma elections as war in Ukraine reshapes vote

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Caraco, A. (2026, September 18). Russia holds nationwide Duma elections as war in Ukraine reshapes vote. Euronews. https://www.euronews.com/video/2026/09/18/russia-holds-nationwide-duma-elections-as-war-in-ukraine-reshapes-vote

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Euronews · collected 2026-09-18 · by Alexis Caraco

Quick Summary

Russia is holding a three-day parliamentary election for its State Duma seats amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. About 111 million people are eligible to vote, with high turnout being emphasized by President Vladimir Putin as indicative of national unity and support for the war effort. The election takes place under strict controls, with United Russia expected to maintain dominance while anti-war party Yabloko faces exclusion from certain ballots. Voting is also occurring in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, which Ukraine and Western governments deem illegal.
Written by AI on 2026-09-19, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Russia held its parliamentary election from September 18 to 20, 2026, marking the first such vote since President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Preliminary results showed a landslide victory for United Russia, securing over three-fourths of the seats in the State Duma, with 349 out of 450 total seats. The election included residents from four illegally annexed regions of Ukraine and Crimea, which was seized by Russia in 2014; Kyiv denounced these votes as illegal.

The Kremlin tightly controlled the electoral process, barring genuine opposition candidates like those from the anti-war Yabloko party, ensuring United Russia's dominance. Putin emphasized voter turnout as a demonstration of public support for his policies and the war effort. Despite economic pressures and anxiety among Russians due to the ongoing conflict, nearly 60% of eligible voters participated.

Notably, 46 veterans of Russia’s war in Ukraine were elected to the State Duma, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov praising their involvement in lawmaking. However, critics argue that this election lacked genuine political competition and fair democratic practices. The results further cemented Putin's control over Russian politics while highlighting the limitations of his image as an untouchable ruler following a Ukrainian drone strike on Moscow during voting. Kyiv condemned the inclusion of annexed territories in Russia’s electoral process.

Written for “Russian Parliamentary Election Cyberattacks And Fraud Claims” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 69 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Russian Parliamentary Election Cyberattacks And Fraud Claims
Politics · 70 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads centre and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
10
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 10 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Centre
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
60/100
Euronews's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
70
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-19 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Euronews · 1162 article(s) · 1 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 1 correction(s)
2026-10-01
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Who wrote this

Alexis Caraco
103 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 103 articles by Alexis Caraco →

Topics

Chukotka Kamchatka Russia Ukraine the State Duma

Subjects

Russia GPE · 3× Ukraine GPE · 2× Chukotka GPE · 1× Kamchatka GPE · 1× Kremlin ORG · 1× Magadan GPE · 1× United Russia ORG · 1× Vladimir Putin PERSON · 1× Yabloko ORG · 1× the State Duma ORG · 1×

Narrative

The election comes as the war increasingly affects daily life across Russia, with drone attacks, fuel shortages, economic pressure and renewed fears of mobilisation adding to the tensions surrounding the vote.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-19
🔮 United Russia is expected to remain dominant, while the main registered anti-war party, Yabloko, has been excluded from the national party-list ballot.
2026-09-19 · Euronews
Russia holds nationwide Duma elections as war in Ukraine reshapes vote · assertive framing

Claims (10 extracted, 0 hedged)

Russia has begun a three-day parliamentary election to fill all 450 seats in the State Duma, with about 111 million people eligible to vote. asserted
people → begin → Duma
Polling stations opened first in Kamchatka, Chukotka, Magadan and other eastern regions, where local officials urged residents to turn out. asserted
officials → open → residents
The Kremlin is closely watching participation, with Vladimir Putin presenting high turnout as a sign of national unity and support for the war in Ukraine. asserted
Putin → watch → Ukraine
The vote is taking place in a tightly controlled political environment. asserted
vote → take → environment
United Russia is expected to remain dominant, while the main registered anti-war party, Yabloko, has been excluded from the national party-list ballot. asserted
party → expect → ballot
Some of its candidates are still running in individual constituencies, although many have also been barred from those races. asserted
many → run → races
The election also includes remote electronic voting in several regions and is being held in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, including Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, as well as Crimea. asserted
election → include → Donetsk
Ukraine and Western governments consider the polls there illegal. asserted
polls → consider → ?
Outside Russia, 333 polling stations are operating in 152 countries, while early voting has already taken place in remote areas and among soldiers. asserted
voting → operate → soldiers
The election comes as the war increasingly affects daily life across Russia, with drone attacks, fuel shortages, economic pressure and renewed fears of mobilisation adding to the tensions surrounding the vote. asserted
attacks → come → vote
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