Kremlin hails election of nearly 50 Ukraine war veterans to Russian parliament

September 25, 2026 5:38 AM EDT

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov speaks during a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with journalists on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, India, September 12, 2026. Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool via REUTERS

MOSCOW, Sept 25 (Reuters) - The ‌Kremlin on Friday ​hailed ​the election of 46 veterans of Russia's war in Ukraine to the 450-seat lower house of parliament, the State Duma, saying ‌they would be heavily involved in the lawmaking process.

Ella Pamfilova, ⁠the head of Russia's Central Election Commission, announced the full and final results of ‌this month's three-day election on ‌Friday, saying veterans would account for over 10% of the new Duma, a figure which Russian media have suggested is a record ​in post-Soviet Russia.

Asked about the electoral success of veterans of what Russia calls its special military operation in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry ⁠Peskov said:

“Well, first of all, this is excellent. The experience of our heroes is in high demand. The ​results of the vote have clearly confirmed this. And, of course, each in their own field will make the ​greatest possible contribution to shaping various ‌initiatives.”

Pamfilova said final results showed that the ruling United Russia party would get 349 seats in the new parliament, ⁠the Communist party 37 seats, the ultra-nationalist LDPR 23 seats, the New People party 19 seats, the Just Russia party 17 seats, and the Motherland party one ⁠seat. Four other seats would go to people unaffiliated to any party who had ​put themselves forward, she said.

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that high turnout in the election of nearly 60% showed that Russians support their armed forces fighting ‌in Ukraine and the authorities' efforts to protect national security.

In a tightly controlled political system, which critics say does ‌not tolerate genuine dissent, most anti-war candidates were barred from running and those ⁠that did take part won ‌no seats in the ​national parliament, although the liberal Yabloko party secured a tiny foothold in a regional parliament.

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Editing by ‌Andrew Osborn )



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