Putin consolidates grip on Russia as 49 Ukraine war veterans elected to parliament

<p>United Russia party’s record victory in tightly controlled vote likely to be used as evidence of support for war against Ukraine</p><p>Russia’s new parliament will include 49 deputies who have taken part in the war against Ukraine, officials have said after a landslide victory by the ruling United Russia party in widely criticised elections.</p><p>The pro-Kremlin party won a record 355 seats in the country’s 450-seat Duma lower house of parliament, according to preliminary figures. The result further consolidates Vladimir Putin’s grip on power and gives United Russia a super-majority bigger than <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/19/russia-stays-loyal-kremlin-election-record-low-turnout">its previous 2016 record</a> of 343 seats.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/21/putin-consolidates-grip-russia-ukraine-war-veterans-elected-duma">Continue reading...</a>