Putin tightens grip on Russia as 49 Ukraine war veterans win Duma seats

Russia's ruling United Russia party won a record 355 seats in the Duma, with 49 Ukraine war veterans elected, consolidating Vladimir Putin's grip on power in elections widely criticized as tightly controlled. The vote, the first since the 2022 full-scale invasion, gives United Russia a super-majority exceeding its 2016 record of 343 seats. Western governments denounced the polls as a "sham," and Russia's supreme court banned the anti-war Yabloko party from participating. The elections come amid speculation Putin may announce a large mobilisation campaign this autumn, with Ukraine suggesting the Kremlin wants to recruit 300,000 troops. Russia has intensified bombardment of Ukrainian cities, while Ukraine launched deep strikes on Moscow's oil refinery on Sunday.