Russia’s ruling United Russia party is projected to win around half the vote in parliamentary elections, according to state-run exit polls, securing a decisive victory. The result was widely anticipated because the Kremlin tightly controls the electoral process and credible opposition is largely absent, making the main uncertainty the size of the majority.

The Communist Party is forecast to finish second with about 14% and the LDPR third with roughly 10%; turnout was around 56%. Voting took place over three days for the State Duma, not the presidency, so Vladimir Putin was not a candidate, while the election coincided with a major reported Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow that killed two people.