Vladimir Putin declares Russian people invincible following elections

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the recent parliamentary elections demonstrated the resilience of the Russian people, asserting that the nation cannot be intimidated or defeated. Speaking at a Kremlin meeting with political party leaders, Putin claimed that attempts to disrupt the electoral process through “terrorist methods and instruments of foreign intelligence services” had failed.

The election, held from September 18-20, coincided with a massive Ukrainian drone raid targeting Moscow and other Russian regions. Moscow officials described the attack, which involved over 1,600 UAVs, as “unprecedented” and an attempt to interfere with the vote. At least two civilians were reported killed in the Moscow region during the strikes.

Regarding the election results, the ruling United Russia party secured 355 of the 450 seats in the State Duma. Putin noted that the turnout provided “indisputable, unquestionable legitimacy” to the results and reflected public support for Russian troops, as candidates involved in the conflict in Ukraine won seats in parliament.

In a separate move, Putin signed a decree increasing the authorized strength of the Russian Armed Forces to 2,441,630 personnel, which includes 1,550,500 servicemen, adding 15,500 positions to the previous authorized level.