Russia reports ‘powerful’ cyberattacks on second day of parliamentary vote

Russian authorities reported a large-scale cyberattack on the capital’s electronic voting infrastructure during the second day of a tightly controlled, three-day parliamentary election. Ella Pamfilova, head of the Central Election Commission, told reporters the Moscow electronic voting system experienced an intense, nearly continuous attack overnight and that hostile activity has continued, but she added the system remained operational and did not provide further technical details or identify perpetrators. The nationwide vote will determine all 450 seats in the State Duma and is expected to preserve the governing United Russia party’s dominance. It is the first national election held since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and is being watched as a measure of public sentiment about the conflict. State media cited CEC data showing turnout of 32.58 percent as of 14:00 local time on Saturday (11:00 GMT). The campaign and candidate lineup were tightly managed ahead of voting: most antiwar candidates were removed from the ballot, and the Supreme Court last month found the liberal Yabloko party in breach of electoral rules, a decision the party denied. Kremlin officials framed the election as an expression of national unity; Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said voters were participating actively despite “physical threats and cyber challenges,” and that high turnout signaled a united response to what she called a war declared against Russia and its people. Security developments around the vote included claims of external interference and attacks. President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of attempting to “hinder” the election, an allegation Kyiv did not respond to, while Ukrainian authorities have described the vote as farcical. Moscow’s mayor reported that more than 350 Ukrainian drones struck the capital on Friday morning, and officials have linked such strikes to Kyiv’s objective of exerting political, social and economic pressure inside Russia.