Putin's party wins record Duma majority in Kremlin-controlled elections as EU vows sanctions

Vladimir Putin's United Russia party has won a record supermajority in parliament, preliminary results showed Monday. The tightly controlled three-day vote excluded every party critical of the Kremlin or the war in Ukraine. Central Election Commission chief Ella Pamfilova said United Russia had secured 355 of the State Duma's 450 seats. That beats its previous record of 343, set in 2016, and is well above the 301 needed to change the constitution. Final results are due later this week. The Communist Party came second with 40 seats, followed by the nationalist LDPR on 25, New People on 20 and A Just Russia on four. Pamfilova put turnout at more than 59 percent.