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Putin feared to be planning mass mobilisation of 600,000 troops after record Duma election win

From the Newshound archive · first published 21 September 2026 · last updated 23 September 2026.

Vladimir Putin declined to say whether British defence facilities would be struck, as Western intelligence chiefs warn a Russian attack on NATO could come within months following the rigged Duma election.
Vladimir Putin declined to say whether British defence facilities would be struck, as Western intelligence chiefs warn a Russian attack on NATO could come within months following the rigged Duma election.

Kyiv has accused Moscow of planning a fresh call-up of troops in the coming weeks, with Ukrainian intelligence warning Putin could use his party's record Duma supermajority as a mandate to forcibly recruit hundreds of thousands of new soldiers. United Russia swept 355 of 450 parliamentary seats in Russia's first wartime election since the 2022 invasion — beating its own record. Putin has denied mobilisation plans, but fears are deepening across Western capitals. The election was widely condemned as a sham, with the only registered anti-war party banned from standing.

United Russia won over three-quarters of Duma seats, including votes from four Ukrainian regions Moscow illegally annexed in 2022.

Forty-nine veterans of the Ukraine war are expected to enter parliament as United Russia deputies, as the Kremlin glorifies its fighting forces.

The result leaves Putin unconstrained in pushing through constitutional changes, with analysts warning Russians were never given the chance to vote against the war.

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