Russia held a State Duma election while Ukraine sent over 1,000 drones into Russian territory. Hundreds hit Moscow. Putin's party won anyway. This is like voting for your HOA president while your neighbor firebombs your garage.
The timing here deserves recognition. Ukraine picked the final day of voting to launch its largest drone offensive yet. Not the first day. Not the middle. The last day. That's spite with a calendar.
Putin's party secured victory despite explosions overhead. Turns out voter enthusiasm remains strong when the alternative is a window defenestration or polonium tea. Exit polls showed 87% approval, which is technically possible if you don't count the people who left through the exit permanently.
The drones targeted Moscow specifically. Not the outskirts. Not some rural district. The capital. Ukraine essentially ran a campaign ad that said "your government cannot protect you" and aired it in every Moscow neighborhood simultaneously. The Kremlin called the election free and fair, which is true if you redefine both words.
Retail traders immediately started scanning for defense contractor plays and Russian market exposure. They're currently Googling "how to buy rubles" and "is Moscow Exchange on Robinhood." The answer is no, but that won't stop them from finding a leveraged ETF that's down 94% since inception and calling it a value play.
Pro-Putin candidates swept the results. Voter turnout hit record levels, possibly because polling stations are harder to drone strike than apartment buildings. Election observers noted some irregularities, which is diplomat-speak for "we watched them stuff ballots while incoming air defense missiles lit up the sky."
The real story is that Ukraine proved Moscow's air defenses work about as well as your portfolio's hedges.
Photo by Nikolai Kolosov on Unsplash
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