Russia's ruling United Russia party was on track to easily win a parliamentary election that President Vladimir Putin has cast as a test of support for the war in Ukraine, partial official results showed on Sunday, after Ukraine launched a massive drone attack on the Russian capital.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party won a large majority in parliamentary elections, according to preliminary results published by state media Monday, in a vote held amid Ukrainian drone strikes, cyberattacks and a crackdown on anti-war opposition. The election was the first since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
An oil refinery was damaged in Moscow after Ukraine launched a major attack on the city and other parts of Russia involving hundreds of drones. The mayor of Moscow, Sergey Sobyanin, said more than 1,600 drones had been intercepted and shot down, 450 of which were aimed at Moscow, and accused Ukraine of attempting to interfere with the highly controlled three-day election that is expected to tighten president Vladimir Putin’s 26-year grip on power Hundreds of drones target Moscow on last day of voting in Russia’s parliamentary election Continue reading...
The Guardian20 Sept
Western officials fear Russia’s leader will escalate not just the war in Ukraine but also attacks on NATO.
The Sydney Morning Herald•Adrian Blomfield20 Sept
The Krelim is hoping for a high voter turnout and a convincing United Russia win, expert Filip Scherf explains.
Umar Kremlev reportedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the multi-day event filled with fireworks and dancers in sailor caps
The potential escalation could strain NATO relations, destabilize European security, and impact global markets amid heightened geopolitical tensions.
CryptoBriefing•Estefano Gomez18 Sept
This week, Saudi Arabia has turned to its allies for military support as Iran-backed Houthi rebels tighten their grip on Yemen’s Red Sea coast and the Bab el Mandeb shipping choke point, while drone attacks on the Kingdom’s oil infrastructure deepen an emerging energy crisis. In Russia, voters head to the polls for a tightly controlled parliamentary election with little meaningful opposition, as Putin insists there will be no new mobilisation. Meanwhile, warnings about the risks of AI are coming from inside the industry itself, with Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman warning against treating AI models like humans—and raising the prospect of a new “silicon species” competing with us for resources. Finally, in Britain, the royal family is back on the defensive as Earl Spencer’s new claims about Princess Diana’s funeral prompt an unusually pointed response from Buckingham Palace.
Empires inevitably decline, and Putin’s project will be no exception.
Foreign Policy•Alexander J. Motyl18 Sept
Washington is emulating Moscow’s ways of fighting wars—and helping it in the process.
Foreign Policy•Keir Giles18 Sept
Although few Russians doubt that Putin’s United Russia party will cruise to victory again, the vote offers a measure of public support for the war.
Russia seizes Nestle and Auchan assets under Putin decree, placing operations under Moscow-based management firm in retaliation against European
CryptoBriefing•Editorial Team18 SeptAhead of a parliamentary election on Sunday, President Vladimir Putin's grip on power is as strong as ever. But when the time comes, here are some potential successors.
The election results reinforce Putin's control, limiting political diversity and signaling continued aggressive foreign policy amid global tensions.
CryptoBriefing•Estefano Gomez18 Sept
After a clampdown on anti-war candidates, the choices for Russian voters are even more limited than usual in this weekend's parliamentary elections.
However, NATO sees no risk of "imminent attack" despite the fresh warnings from countries such as Poland, Lithuania, France and the Netherlands.
For the Kremlin, the giant Vostok Oil project in the frigid Far North is crucial to two goals: bolstering Russia’s presence in the Arctic and keeping production of the key export commodity going as reserves in more accessible parts of the country are depleted. It’s also a case study of how a huge, state-run corporation like Rosneft -- headed by Igor Sechin, a longtime ally of President Vladimir Putin -- goes about putting such an enterprise in place amid increasingly tight Western sanctions over Russia’s war on Ukraine, an RFE/RL…