Pamfilova reports massive cyberattack on Moscow online voting system

September 19, 2026 at 08:10 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Russian election chief Ella Pamfilova said on Saturday that Moscow's online voting platform has been under a massive cyberattack since the night. She said the attack was being successfully repelled and did not disrupt voting. Rostelecom also reported two fiber-optic line failures in the Far East on September 19, which its CEO called organized sabotage.

Key Facts

Ella Pamfilova, chair of Russia's Central Election Commission, said on September 19 that Moscow's online voting platform has been under a massive cyberattack since the night.
Rostelecom reported two fiber-optic line failures in the Far East on September 19, one in Sakhalin Oblast and one in Khabarovsk Krai.
Rostelecom CEO Mikhail Oseevsky called the cable cuts organized sabotage aimed at disrupting the elections.
Russia's State Duma elections are being held from September 18 to 20, the first parliamentary vote since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Cyberattack on Moscow Voting

Ella Pamfilova, chair of Russia's Central Election Commission, said on September 19 that Moscow's online voting platform has been under a massive cyberattack since the night. She said the attack was being successfully repelled and did not disrupt voting, according to RIA Novosti. The Moscow Public Election Observation Headquarters told Interfax that the capital's online voting system was operating normally.

Fiber-Optic Line Failures

Rostelecom reported two fiber-optic line failures in the Far East on September 19. One break occurred in Sakhalin Oblast when a pole was cut down, and another in Khabarovsk Krai where cable was severed in several places. Rostelecom CEO Mikhail Oseevsky called the incidents organized sabotage aimed at disrupting the elections. Connections were restored through backup channels.

Election Context

Russia's State Duma elections are being held from September 18 to 20, the first parliamentary vote since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The three-day vote spans 11 time zones, and the pro-Kremlin United Russia party is expected to win. Only Kremlin-loyal parties were allowed to participate, and the anti-war Yabloko party was barred last month. Germany and the European Union criticized the elections as staged and pointed to repression of the opposition.