United Russia Wins in Occupied Ukrainian Territories

The ruling party, with few exceptions, is winning both in Russia and in the occupied Ukrainian regions. Kyiv and its allies call the elections in the latter illicit. According to local election commissions, in the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR, in the Moscow-controlled parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, and in Crimea, the United Russia party is leading by a large margin. With few exceptions, the situation was the same in the 80 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, where governors, mayors and deputies at various levels were also elected. In the vast majority of regions, voting took place over 3 days. The turnout in the occupied territories was quite high - over 65%. At the time of the voting, the fighting did not stop along the entire front line. The Ukrainian counteroffensive is advancing slower than expected. However, Kyiv’s allies believe that partial success has been achieved and there is still a lot of fighting before the cold weather onset. According to the president Volodymyr Zelensky, the Russians “will run away from their positions” if the Ukrainian Armed Forces put a little more pressure from the south. Meanwhile, Eastern European countries continue to build up their naval forces in response to the potential threat. Romania announced an investment programme to modernize the port of Constanta, including improvements to radar systems. On the weekend, Bucharest reported the discovery of wreckage of what is believed to be another Russian drone on its territory. Romanian Foreign Ministry called upon the attorney of the Embassy of the Russian Federation.