Moscow Voting System Hit by Powerful, Sustained Cyberattacks: Russian Official

Moscow: Russian officials said on Saturday that Moscow’s electronic voting system came under powerful cyberattacks overnight as the country’s tightly controlled parliamentary elections entered their second day.
Ella Pamfilova, head of Russia’s Central Election Commission, said the attack was ongoing and was happening “almost without interruption.” She gave no details about its nature and did not identify who was responsible.
President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine on Friday of trying to disrupt the elections. Ukraine did not respond to the accusation but has called the vote a farce.
Only parties that support Putin and the Kremlin’s military campaign are registered to contest the elections. Voting is also taking place in the four Ukrainian regions Moscow claimed to have annexed after the war began, although Russia does not fully control them, as well as in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
The European Union criticised the elections, saying coercion was used to eliminate rivals. A Council of Europe body also called the vote a sham.
The vote will decide all 450 seats in the State Duma, Russia’s lower house, and is scheduled to run through Sunday. Putin’s United Russia party is widely expected to retain its dominance, and few Russians anticipate major changes in the results. The elections are nonetheless being seen as a gauge of public support for the war and the government.
Putin has ruled Russia since 1999, and United Russia has dominated the political system since the early 2000s. Criticism of the Ukraine campaign is banned. Putin urged Russians to vote, show support for Moscow’s troops and respond to those who want to weaken Russia.