# Putin's party wins landslide as war veterans enter parliament

> United Russia secures record 355 Duma seats in elections widely criticised as undemocratic, with 49 Ukraine war veterans elected.
- Title: Putin's party wins landslide as war veterans enter parliament
- Summary: United Russia secures record 355 Duma seats in elections widely criticised as undemocratic, with 49 Ukraine war veterans elected. Vladimir Putin's United…
- Keywords: vladimir putin, united russia, russia duma, ukraine war, russian elections, kremlin, volodymyr zelenskyy, news, world, Putin's, party, wins
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/21/putin-consolidates-grip-russia-ukraine-war-veterans-elected-duma
- Published: 2026-09-21T13:40:39+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: vladimir putin, united russia, russia duma, ukraine war, russian elections, kremlin, volodymyr zelenskyy, news, world
## United Russia wins record victory
Vladimir Putin's United Russia party won three hundred fifty five of four hundred fifty Duma seats, a record surpassing its previous two thousand sixteen result of three hundred forty three seats.
## War veterans enter new parliament
Forty nine deputies who fought in Ukraine's war will sit in the new parliament, according to United Russia's general secretary Vladimir Yakushev, who initially said eighty six were likely elected.
## Kremlin claims election shows support
Putin's press spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the vote demonstrated that Russians supported their leader, who has ruled as prime minister or president since two thousand. Peskov said it showed consolidation around the head of state.

> These indicators, of course, point to the highest level of consolidation within Russian society around the head of state.
## West condemns election as sham
Western governments denounced the polls held in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine as a sham. The Kremlin banned Yabloko, the only party opposing the war, leaving liberal voters unable to express discontent.
## EU diplomat calls election undemocratic
Kaja Kallas, the EU's top diplomat, called the election another major setback for Russian democracy. She said the Kremlin silenced dissent and shut out international election monitors, leaving only the veneer of democracy.

> The veneer of democracy is all that remains.
## Russia attacks Ukraine as votes counted
As Russia counted votes, Kremlin forces attacked Zaporizhzhia, damaging a nine storey residential building, university building, shopping centre and boiler house. Five people were injured and a woman in Kharkiv region was killed.
## Zelenskyy warns of escalation ahead
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack brutal and targeted, saying Russia is signalling readiness to expand the war. He said global stability has been shattered and pressure must continue to end the conflict.

> Russia is not scaling back its escalatory actions and is signalling a readiness to expand the war.
## Key takeaway

Vladimir Putin's United Russia party won a record three hundred fifty five of four hundred fifty Duma seats, consolidating his grip on power and bringing forty nine Ukraine war veterans into parliament.