Live: Russian election enters final day in shadow of war in Ukraine

Home Europe Live Issued on: 20/09/2026 - 07:16Modified: 20/09/2026 - 07:18 A man casts his ballot for Russia's parliamentary election at a polling station named after Alexey Osipov, the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardiya) officer killed in the course of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and posthumously awarded with the Gold Star medal of "Hero of Russia", in the school also bearing his name in the settlement of Razumnoye in the Belgorod region on September 19, 2026. © Stringer, AFP A parliamentary election that President Vladimir Putin has framed as a test of public support for Russia’s war in Ukraine entered its third and final day on Sunday. The ruling United Russia party is expected to maintain its dominance in a political system that critics say leaves little room for dissent. Follow the day’s developments as they unfold in our liveblog. Yesterday's key developments: The United States approved a potential $2.68 billion sale of air defense equipment to Ukraine on Friday, after Kyiv made repeated pleas for support to fend off Russian attacks. ⁠A ⁠Russian glide ​bomb hit ​an apartment building in the northern Ukrainian city of ​Sumy ‌on Friday, ⁠killing two people and ‌injuring seven, three of ⁠them in serious condition. Russia’s parliamentary election for the first time included residents of regions that Moscow illegally annexed from Ukraine after the start of its full-scale invasion more than 4 1/2 years ago. (FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters) Keywords for this article