Polls opened in Russia's Far East on Friday for a 3 day parliamentary vote in which the Kremlin's United Russia party seeks to maintain its dominance, extending Vladimir Putin's 26 year tenure at the helm. The process is the first State Duma election since Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Voting occurs across Russia and in the occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, with the Central Election Commission reporting a 6.48% turnout by 12:00 Moscow time.

Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared the election a farce and said results from occupied territories will have no legal force. Reports from those regions describe mobile ballot teams escorted by armed troops, and Russian commanders allegedly used the identities of missing or killed soldiers to cast votes for United Russia. Only parties that support Putin and the Kremlin's military campaign were registered to run in the contest.