Russia votes for a second day in tightly controlled State Duma election amid war and political crackdown
Voting is continuing in Russia's three-day election for the State Duma and regional offices, with the ballot expected to reinforce President Vladimir Putin's political control. The vote runs from 18 to 20 September and comes as Russia's war in Ukraine continues into its fifth year. Only parties that back Putin and the war are on the ballot, while Yabloko, the country's only publicly anti-war party still operating inside Russia, has been barred.The election will fill all 450 seats in the State Duma, along with governorships in 11 federal regions and seats in regional legislatures across 39 federal subjects. Voters are... [Continue Reading]
360LiveNews | 18 Sep 2026 13:01 LONDON
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Ukraine drone barrage hits Moscow as Russia opens parliamentary vote
Ukraine launched more than 350 drones at Moscow and other Russian regions as Russia opened voting in its first parliamentary election since the start of the war. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said most of the drones aimed at the capital were destroyed at an outer defensive perimeter, with 64 shot down as they approached the city. The attack coincided with the start of a three-day ballot for the 450-seat State Duma, adding a security dimension to a vote already being held under wartime conditions.Polling began in Russia's far east on Friday, with Kamchatka and Chukotka among the first areas to... [Continue Reading]
360LiveNews | 18 Sep 2026 12:29 LONDON
Noontime News Recap: Russia election opens under pressure as Middle East tensions and Ukraine strikes escalate
Russia has opened a three day parliamentary election for the State Duma, with voting starting in the far east and expected to deliver another victory for President Vladimir Putin, even as a report says the Kremlin has intensified a pre election crackdown. 🔗 🔗Ukraine said a morning Russian drone attack injured five people, including three children, in the Kyiv region near the capital, while separate strikes hit Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro. Poland also warned that Russia may try to carry out drone and rocket attacks against NATO states backing Ukraine, and said its airspace remains restricted. 🔗 🔗In the Middle East,... [Continue Reading]
360LiveNews Recap | 18 Sep 2026 12:24 LONDON
Russia begins three-day Duma election amid war in Ukraine
Russia has begun a three-day parliamentary election to fill all 450 seats in the State Duma, with voting opening first in eastern regions before spreading across the country. About 111 million people are eligible to take part, according to the supplied report, and polling is also taking place in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. The vote is being held in a tightly controlled political environment as the war in Ukraine continues to shape domestic politics.Polling stations opened first in Kamchatka, Chukotka, Magadan and other eastern regions, where local officials urged residents to turn out. The Kremlin is closely watching participation, with... [Continue Reading]
360LiveNews | 18 Sep 2026 11:30 LONDON
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Kremlin intensifies pre-election crackdown ahead of Duma vote, report says
The Kremlin has intensified a pre-election crackdown ahead of Russia's Duma elections, according to a report published on 18 September. The account says the campaign of pressure was aimed at reducing the risk of a protest vote and preventing any visible display of public dissatisfaction at the ballot box. It describes the effort as a form of "ballot sterilisation" designed to produce an election result that signals unity behind President Vladimir Putin and the governing United Russia party.The report says candidates from so-called managed opposition parties, including the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, have been arrested or barred from... [Continue Reading]
360LiveNews | 18 Sep 2026 10:38 LONDON
Breakfast News Recap: Iran scrutiny deepens as Middle East tensions rattle energy, shipping and diplomacy
The United Nations mission on Iran said there are reasonable grounds to believe the United States committed war crimes in its strikes, widening scrutiny of the conflict as Tehran faces fresh international pressure. 🔗 In a separate blow to efforts to monitor Iran, Russia and China vetoed a UN move to extend sanctions monitoring, while Washington also moved against Iranian crypto networks. 🔗Energy and shipping remained under strain across the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is rerouting crude through ship to ship transfers off Oman’s Sohar port as disruption linked to the Strait of Hormuz blockade continues, and crude prices have... [Continue Reading]
360LiveNews Recap | 18 Sep 2026 08:40 LONDON
Russia begins parliamentary election expected to preserve Kremlin control
Voting has begun in Russia's parliamentary election, with the main Kremlin-backed party expected to keep its dominant position in the State Duma. The three-day vote started on Friday in Russia's Far East and comes after more than four years of full-scale war with Ukraine. Authorities have tightened control over the ballot, while the Kremlin seeks to present the election as a show of support for its wartime policy.United Russia is widely expected to retain its overwhelming grip on the lower house alongside other parties aligned with President Vladimir Putin. The only party that openly criticised the war was removed from... [Continue Reading]
360LiveNews | 17 Sep 2026 22:35 LONDON
Day News Recap: Ukraine under fresh fire as Hormuz tensions, sanctions and diplomacy ripple worldwide
Russia intensified its assault on Ukraine overnight, with missile and drone strikes injuring at least 19 people and causing damage in Kyiv, Odesa and Zaporizhzhia regions, while separate attacks on Odesa and Sumy brought fresh fires, deaths and injuries according to local officials and emergency services. 🔗 🔗Kyiv also moved to replace its top prosecutor after a corruption scandal, appointing Anton Kovalskyi as acting prosecutor general following Ruslan Kravchenko’s resignation. At the same time, Ukrainian and US diplomatic teams were working to arrange a Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump meeting at the UN as the country faced the latest Russian strike.... [Continue Reading]
360LiveNews Recap | 17 Sep 2026 18:22 LONDON
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Breakfast News Recap: Russia strikes Kyiv and Odesa as US pressure builds on Moscow and markets turn lower
Russian airstrikes hit Kyiv and Odesa overnight, with officials reporting explosions in the capital and the Black Sea port city as Ukraine faced another wave of attacks. At the same time, Ukrainian and US diplomatic teams were working to arrange a meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump at the UN, even as fresh strikes underscored the urgency. 🔗 🔗In Washington, the House of Representatives passed a sweeping sanctions and tariff bill aimed at increasing economic pressure on Russia, while Donald Trump also renewed his own pressure on interest rates, saying they should be 1% or less. Separately, the Federal... [Continue Reading]
360LiveNews Recap | 17 Sep 2026 08:41 LONDON
Russia heads into Duma election expected to cement Kremlin control
Russia is voting in a parliamentary election expected to return a Duma dominated by United Russia and lawmakers loyal to President Vladimir Putin. The vote is for 450 deputies to the lower house of parliament and is taking place against the backdrop of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Russia has its own political system and political process, underscoring the authorities' confidence that the result will bring few surprises.Officials say nearly 200 war veterans are standing in the election, a sign that the Kremlin is using the contest to promote soldiers who have returned from... [Continue Reading]
360LiveNews | 17 Sep 2026 06:36 LONDON
Putin urges turnout in Russian parliamentary vote as test of support for Ukraine war
Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged Russians to vote in the country's upcoming parliamentary election, describing turnout as a measure of public support for the war in Ukraine. In a televised address on Wednesday, he said participation would show that millions stand behind Russian soldiers and that the country remains united. The vote begins on Friday and will run for three days.The election will choose the 450 members of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament. It is Russia's first parliamentary election since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. According to the supplied material, the ruling... [Continue Reading]
360LiveNews | 16 Sep 2026 21:00 LONDON
Russia-linked group used Claude AI for espionage, disinformation and drone-swarm tooling
A Russia-linked hacking group has used Claude AI to automate cyber-espionage against Ukrainian and European government targets, according to a report published by Anthropic. The company said the same activity was also used to support disinformation campaigns and to develop targeting software for autonomous drone swarms. It said it had blocked the malicious use it identified and shared the findings with government and industry partners.Anthropic said the main case involved a group it designated GTG-20006, which it said used Claude to operate against more than 20 organisations. Those targets included government ministries, defence and intelligence agencies, embassies, think tanks and... [Continue Reading]
360LiveNews | 16 Sep 2026 16:30 LONDON
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US accuses Russia-linked network of plotting killings of Ukraine allies overseas
The US Department of Justice has accused five men of taking part in an alleged Russian intelligence-linked plot to murder people aligned, or perceived to be aligned, with Ukraine in the United States and Europe. The announcement says the men were charged in connection with a conspiracy that involved paying, or trying to pay, people to target those individuals. All five accused remain at large, and it is not clear from the supplied material where they are located.According to the Justice Department, three of the defendants are described as high-ranking members of the Russian intelligence network. They include Yuri Khrameev,... [Continue Reading]
360LiveNews | 16 Sep 2026 14:01 LONDON
Breakfast News Recap: Russia threats escalate as Gaza, Yemen and US security stories dominate briefing
Russia has been accused by US authorities of plotting targeted killings of Ukraine allies in the United States and Europe, while a separate report says five people have been charged over a Russian intelligence network linked to terrorism financing and a murder for hire plot. The Kremlin has also stepped up its rhetoric, with a senior aide threatening Warsaw with destruction if Poland joins military action against Russia. 🔗 🔗 🔗In the Middle East, the United Nations human rights chief warned that rubble clearing in Gaza may be destroying evidence of war crimes and concealing human remains, as scrutiny of... [Continue Reading]
360LiveNews Recap | 16 Sep 2026 08:40 LONDON
Russia begins early voting in occupied Ukraine ahead of parliamentary election
Russia has begun early voting in occupied and frontline areas of Ukraine ahead of its nationwide parliamentary election, with mobile polling teams visiting homes and temporary voting arrangements in place. Footage from rural areas showed residents casting ballots outside their homes using ballot boxes and portable booths. In Donetsk, election officials were seen moving between settlements with police officers and armed military personnel present.The vote is due to take place across Russia from 18 to 20 September. According to the supplied material, members of Russia's Central Electoral Commission are overseeing the process in the occupied areas, while Russian servicemen and... [Continue Reading]
360LiveNews | 15 Sep 2026 21:04 LONDON
Russia threatens Warsaw with destruction if Poland joins war, amid sharp NATO rhetoric
A senior Kremlin aide has threatened that Warsaw would be destroyed if Poland entered military action against Russia, in a fresh escalation of rhetoric between Moscow and NATO states. Nikolai Patrushev, a close aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Russia would use its entire arsenal of forces and means if Poland joined a conflict against Russia. He said Warsaw would "cease to exist within two or three days".The comments were made in an interview with a Russian newspaper and came after Poland's foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, said NATO could "quite quickly" defeat Russia if Moscow attacked the alliance. Sikorski... [Continue Reading]
360LiveNews | 15 Sep 2026 20:29 LONDON
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Russia warns Denmark after Baltic Sea helicopter near miss as tensions rise
Russia has warned Denmark against what it called reckless action after a Russian frigate fired two flares that narrowly missed a Danish military helicopter in the Baltic Sea. Moscow's ambassador in Copenhagen, Vladimir Barbin, said he had delivered a formal note demanding steps to prevent a repeat of the episode. He blamed what he described as dangerous manoeuvres by the Danish aircraft and said the helicopter's actions were provocative.Denmark said the Fennec helicopter was on a routine mission to photograph the frigate as it sailed in international waters off Denmark. Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus said one flare passed within a... [Continue Reading]
360LiveNews | 15 Sep 2026 16:29 LONDON
US confirms on-orbit space weapons as debate grows over military competition in orbit
The United States has acknowledged that it has deployed weapons in Earth orbit, in a rare public confirmation that has drawn fresh attention to the militarisation of space. US Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said the systems are "on-orbit space control weapons" intended to defend US forces against hostile action. He did not say when they were placed in orbit, how many there are, or what specific capabilities they have.Meink made the remarks at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference, where he said the United States must remain ready to meet evolving threats. He described space control as involving kinetic... [Continue Reading]
360LiveNews | 15 Sep 2026 16:02 LONDON
Kim Jong-un pledges unwavering support to Putin in letter backing Russia's war
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin promising what state media described as unwavering support for Moscow. In the message, Kim also referred to Russia's war against Ukraine as sacred, according to the report published on Tuesday. The letter comes as speculation grows that Pyongyang may be preparing to send more troops to Russia.The report said Kim told Putin that his will and that of the North Korean government were firm and unequivocal in seeking to expand and deepen joint work in a comprehensive way. It did not give a date for the... [Continue Reading]
360LiveNews | 15 Sep 2026 11:32 LONDON
Russia escalates strikes on Kyiv after Witkoff-Kushner Moscow visit
Russian attacks on Kyiv intensified immediately after United States envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner left Moscow, according to the supplied reports. Ukrainian officials said drones and missiles hit the capital on September 8 and 9, killing at least four civilians. The timing has drawn attention because Ukraine had briefly paused strikes on Moscow between September 5 and 7 to allow the envoys' aircraft to travel safely between the two capitals.The latest escalation comes amid a renewed but fragile diplomatic push to end the war in Ukraine. The visit by Witkoff and Kushner was part of a ceasefire effort linked... [Continue Reading]
360LiveNews | 11 Sep 2026 17:59 LONDON
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