Putin's United Russia wins supermajority in Duma; West decries sham vote

United Russia secured 355 of 450 Duma seats, retaining a two-thirds supermajority, in elections dismissed by the EU and Western nations as a farce due to opposition exclusion and voting in occupied Ukrainian territories. The result consolidates Putin's control but carries no policy surprise; the key signal is the West's unified condemnation and the precedent of holding votes in annexed regions.