Russia reports online attacks on electoral system on second day of parliamentary vote

Russian authorities reported attacks ​on voting systems and communication lines ‌across the country ​on Saturday, the second day of a September 18-20 parliamentary election that Moscow is treating as a test of public support for the war in ‌Ukraine.

The State Duma election, the first since Russia launched its full-scale war in February 2022, is widely expected to see the ruling pro-Putin United Russia party retain its dominance in Russia's tightly controlled political system. Most anti-war candidates were ‌excluded from the ballot before voting across Russia's 11 time zones got under way, after the Supreme Court ruled ‌last month that the liberal Yabloko party — which wants a ceasefire in Ukraine — had breached electoral rules, something it denied.

Some Yabloko candidates, however, are still contesting single-member constituencies, which account for half of the 450 seats in the lower house of parliament. The party ⁠has traditionally polled ​in the single digits. On ⁠Saturday authorities said the online voting system in Moscow had been subjected to a strong attack overnight, but said the situation was under ⁠control.

The attacks were continuing, Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairwoman Ella Pamfilova was cited as saying by state media, but all were ​being successfully repelled. Russia's digital ministry said it had registered a sabotage attempt on communication lines in ⁠the country's Far East, but that the attack had been thwarted and all communication had been restored, state media reported.

President Vladimir Putin earlier ⁠accused ​Ukraine of trying to interfere with the vote, without providing evidence. Nationwide turnout as of 1400 local time on Saturday (1100 GMT) stood at 32.58%, according to CEC data cited by state media.

In Moldova's separatist pro-Russian Transdniestria ⁠region, the election triggered a diplomatic dispute with Chisinau over its objections to the Kremlin's plan to open 15 polling ⁠stations for Russian nationals there. Moscow ⁠says the 220,000 residents of Transdniestria, a sliver of land which broke away from Moldova in 1990 at the end of Soviet rule, hold Russian passports and ‌are entitled to ‌vote.