Russia's manipulated election provides Putin with a mandate for total war
Russia’s September 18–20 parliamentary elections, widely described by observers as the “dirtiest” in the country’s modern history, delivered a predetermined landslide for United Russia, the party controlled by President Vladimir Putin. With more than 90% of votes counted, the ruling party secured roughly 58% of the vote and an unprecedented constitutional majority of 355 out of 450 seats in the State Duma. All genuine opposition parties had been banned beforehand—including the moderate anti-war party Yabloko (Apple) —while independent media remained silenced. The process featured widespread forced voting by public-sector employees, ballot stuffing, obstruction of independent monitors, and heavily manipulated electronic voting systems that independent analysts could not verify. In Russia’s so-called “electoral sultanates” and especially in the occupied Ukrainian territories of Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, results were openly fabricated, with implausibly high turnout figures and voting conducted under the watch of armed soldiers.
Despite the massive fraud, limited independent data suggested that United Russia’s real support was far lower—perhaps only 20–25%—and that anti-war protest voting was stronger than expected in major cities such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, and others. Electronic voting results outside the capital and accurate counts at some polling stations pointed to weaker performance by the ruling party and better showings by certain opposition-backed candidates, whose victories were later overturned through falsification. Analysts noted that the Kremlin deliberately produced an exaggerated official result to demonstrate that no amount of genuine campaigning or protest could change the outcome. Techniques such as multi-week early voting in border and occupied regions made independent verification almost impossible and further inflated the regime’s numbers.
The overall result provides Putin with a manufactured mandate to continue and potentially escalate the war against Ukraine. Russian opposition figures and analysts interpret the election as a signal that the Kremlin is preparing society for a prolonged conflict and possible new waves of mobilization. By eliminating any visible anti-war representation in parliament and claiming overwhelming public backing, the regime has strengthened its political position at home while reinforcing its narrative of national unity behind the military campaign. Western governments and the EU’s top diplomat condemned the vote as a sham, particularly the illegal balloting staged in occupied Ukrainian territories.
Rubio states that Ukraine has consistently targeted vessels associated with the United States.
Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State, claimed that vessels linked to the United States have been targeted by Ukraine several times in recent months, saying the incidents cannot be allowed to continue.
Speaking on Fox News, Rubio said an energy ceasefire under which Russia would stop striking Ukrainian infrastructure, and Ukraine would refrain from attacking Russian infrastructure would be a good idea. He added that “on a number of occasions American-linked ships… have been targeted… by Ukraine,” along with oil shipments. Rubio said the attacks were probably not deliberate but that the issue “needs to be addressed.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Rubio are scheduled to meet in New York on September 23. The U.S. has not confirmed or denied that the meeting has been agreed, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Russian ballistic missiles completely destroy oil and gas facility in Poltava Oblast
Russian forces struck an oil and gas facility in Ukraine’s Poltava Oblast with ballistic missiles in an overnight aerial attack on September 21-22, causing critical damage, Naftogaz, Ukraine’s largest state-owned oil and gas company, said.
At least five missiles hit technological facilities at the site, which had already been shut down and out of operation for an extended period. Naftogaz said the facility had previously been targeted dozens of times by Russian drones and missiles.
The company said the latest strike caused damage so extensive that the facility can no longer realistically be repaired or returned to operation.
Lukashenko disappoints Trump amid his potash deal announcement
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said the country does not have spare volumes of potash fertilizer that could be supplied to the United States, despite President Donald Trump’s announcement that Washington was working on a major deal to purchase Belarusian fertilizer at a significant discount.
Lukashenko had previously discussed supplying potash to the U.S. but said Belarus’ fertilizer production for this year has already been allocated under existing contracts. “Even if we wanted to supply [potash fertilizers] to other, Western markets, we simply don’t have those volumes – everything has already been allocated under contracts,” he said.
Trump’s proposal comes amid an ongoing trade dispute with Canada. Lukashenko’s comments were reported by European Pravda, citing his press service.