Pamfilova, per TASS: saboteurs cut off 'four large regions'. Her commission, per Life.ru: two lines, back within an hour

Russia's election commission says Moscow's online voting platform is under a 'very powerful' cyberattack and that phone lines in the Far East were sabotaged. The reports we hold give two different sizes for the outage. None names an attacker, and none carries evidence beyond the officials' word.

Спиленная опора и повреждённый кабель: ЦИК сообщил о двух диверсиях во время выборов as published by Life.ru · seen at Life.ru

Russia & Eurasia Published 19 Sep 2026, 16:51 UTC Russia

The claim. On 19 September, the second day of the Duma vote, election commission chief Ella Pamfilova said Moscow's online voting platform had been under a cyberattack since the night before, and that it was still going on. Vedomosti, Life.ru, Regnum and Ukrainska Pravda all carry her words.

Two sizes for one outage. Both accounts come from the commission:

Outlet	What it reports	Source it gives
TASS	saboteurs left 'four large regions' without connectivity	Pamfilova
Life.ru	two trunk lines down, Sakhalin and Khabarovsk Krai, restored 'within an hour'	the commission
The Insider	sabotage 'in a number of regions'; broadcasts cut at 'several polling stations'	Rostelecom

How it is worded. Ukrainska Pravda adds 'allegedly' ('нібито') in Ukrainian and 'has claimed' in English. Life.ru and Regnum state the attack in the officials' words, without hedging.

'Normal' comes from officials too. Life.ru, Interfax and Regnum report that voting ran 'normally' ('штатно'). Each attributes that word to the commission or to the Moscow observers' headquarters. More than 2.8 million people had voted in Moscow by mid-day two, about 2.5 million of them electronically, say Moscow's election commission and the observers' headquarters.

What is not settled. - Who attacked. No report names anyone. - Whether four regions or two lines went down. - Whether any votes were affected. Only officials say none were. - No independent check of the platform appears in any report we hold.

What this is about. Russia is electing its parliament, and the body running the vote says someone attacked it while people were voting.

How it got here. The State Duma is the lower house of Russia's parliament. It has 450 seats and is elected every five years. This year the vote runs over three days and ends on Sunday 20 September. Three-day voting was brought in during the 2020 pandemic and kept afterwards.

Moscow has let voters cast ballots online since an experiment in 2019. Voters use the city portal mos.ru, or electronic terminals at polling stations. Critics of the system, including opposition politicians and independent observers, have said for years that online votes are harder to check than paper ballots. Officials say the system is secure. That argument is not settled.

This is the first Duma election since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The war itself began in 2014. Since 2022 most of Russia's prominent opposition figures have been jailed, have died or have left the country. Many outlets that report Russia critically now work from abroad.

Who is involved. Ella Pamfilova has chaired Russia's Central Election Commission since 2016. The commission runs the vote and announces the results. The Moscow Public Headquarters for election observation is an official body. It speaks for the city's observers, and it reported the attack too. Rostelecom is Russia's state-controlled telecoms operator. It runs many of the lines that carry the polling-station video broadcasts.

What is at stake. If the attack happened as officials describe it, it is an attempt to disrupt a national election. If its size is overstated, it could be used to explain away problems at polling stations or in the online count. Either way, the only account we hold comes from the officials running the vote.

Where it stands. Officials say the attack is still going on and that voting has not been affected. No report names an attacker.

What is being argued about

Pamfilova says Moscow's online voting platform is under a continuing cyberattack
Four regions cut off, or two trunk lines restored within an hour
Only the officials running the vote say voting went 'normally'
More than 2.8 million Moscow votes by mid-day two, about 2.5 million of them online

One commission, three sizes of outageSide by side

Outlet	What was hit	How big	Who says so	Hedged?
TASS	communication lines in the Far East	'four large regions' without connectivity	Pamfilova	no
Life.ru	two trunk lines, Sakhalin and Khabarovsk Krai	restored 'within an hour'	the election commission	no
The Insider	communication lines	'a number of regions'; broadcasts cut at 'several polling stations'	Rostelecom	attributed, no count
Ukrainska Pravda	Moscow's online voting system	'large-scale and intensive'	Pamfilova	yes: 'allegedly', 'has claimed'

Each account is carried as the outlet reports it. None of these outlets checked the outage independently.

Sources T TASS L Life.ru T The Insider U Ukrainska Pravda U Ukrainska Pravda

Claims and verdicts

unverified Moscow's online voting platform came under a large-scale cyberattack on the night of 18-19 September, and the attack was still going on the next day.

Vedomosti, Life.ru, Regnum and Ukrainska Pravda all attribute this to Ella Pamfilova, and Interfax and Regnum add the Moscow Public Headquarters for election observation, which is also an official body. None of these reports gives independent technical evidence, so this is one official account repeated, not corroboration.

Checked against 7 sources:

V Vedomosti L Life.ru R Regnum U Ukrainska Pravda U Ukrainska Pravda R Regnum I Interfax

disputed Sabotage of communication lines during the vote left four large regions without connectivity.

TASS quotes Pamfilova as saying four large regions were cut off. Life.ru, citing the same election commission, reports two trunk lines down in Sakhalin and Khabarovsk Krai, restored within an hour, while The Insider's headline cites Rostelecom on sabotage in 'a number of regions' without giving a count.

Checked against 3 sources:

T TASS L Life.ru T The Insider

unverified More than 2.8 million people had voted in Moscow by the middle of day two, about 2.5 million of them electronically.

Interfax attributes the figure to the Moscow observation headquarters, and Regnum attributes it to the Moscow city election commission. Both are official counts, and no independent tally in these reports checks them.

Checked against 3 sources:

I Interfax R Regnum R Regnum

Who wrote it

Р Роман Петренко Ukrainska Pravda

What the bias passes found in their reporting

Attribution inside the sentence the figure of 21,000 by noon is sourced by name in the only report that sources it×1

Hedged claim adds 'allegedly' to the cyberattack claim×1

How hard the claim is stated the report adds 'allegedly' (нібито) in its own voice×1

Quotation marks as judgement the vote and the Transnistrian leader are both placed in quotation marks; Moldova's objection is not×1

Claims we checked that rest on their reporting

5 unverified1 true

From 161 reports we hold under this byline, at Ukrainska Pravda. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →

R Roman Petrenko Ukrainska Pravda

What the bias passes found in their reporting

Asserted or attributed attribution inside the sentence, before the claim×1

Assertion vs attribution The same figure is stated flat as 'neutralised', with no attribution and no word on what it counts×1

Assertion vs attribution The loss figure is stated flat, not attributed in the sentence, and 'neutralised' leaves open what it counts×1

Attribution verb 'has claimed' rather than 'said'×1

Claims we checked that rest on their reporting

1 misleading1 disputed6 unverified1 true

From 129 reports we hold under this byline, at Ukrainska Pravda. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →

С Сергей Пахомов Vedomosti

What the bias passes found in their reporting

Asserted vs attributed the headline attributes the attacks to Novak×1

Asserted vs attributed Attributes the attack count to Novak in the headline.×1

Euphemism The headline gives a generic target category. It names no bridge, no city and no one hurt.×1

Headline beyond source Headline says air defences shot down almost all 10,000 drones. The mayor's quoted words say only that the drones were flying towards the region and that most were neutralised.×1

Claims we checked that rest on their reporting

1 misleading1 disputed4 unverified1 true

From 755 reports we hold under this byline, at Vedomosti. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →

Ю Юлия Сафиулина Life.ru

What the bias passes found in their reporting

Asserted versus attributed Describes the same background more softly, as rising prices.×1

Assertion before attribution Europe's car industry 'in deep crisis' is stated in the report's voice. The attribution 'Putin believes' comes only after it.×1

Attributed Names the single outlet the account comes from×1

Figure chosen two radars×1

Claims we checked that rest on their reporting

2 disputed6 unverified3 true

From 922 reports we hold under this byline, at Life.ru. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →

Н Наталья Демьянова Life.ru

What the bias passes found in their reporting

Direct quotation paraphrase only; the report quotes none of his words and says he was commenting on songs sung in Russian×1

Headline against body the headline calls it a "harsh" appeal; the body says only that he called on him×1

Lead choice Another report on the same interview leads with the former minister's illness×1

Measure chosen The only report that prices the crisis in what a driver hands over: one grade, one country, one figure per litre.×1

Claims we checked that rest on their reporting

1 false1 misleading3 disputed14 unverified1 true

From 1216 reports we hold under this byline, at Life.ru. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →

The bylines on the reports this story is built from. Hover one for what our passes have measured on their reporting. · 7 reports we hold carry no byline — we do not invent one.

Coverage, outlet by outlet

T TASS — state-controlled

Central Election Commission views sabotage in Far East as attempt to disrupt elections

Gives the largest figure: Pamfilova says 'saboteurs' left four large regions without connectivity. TASS states it without hedging.

MOSCOW, September 19. /TASS/. Saboteurs’ cutting off communication lines in four regions of the Far East is an attempt to disrupt voting, Central Election Commission head Ella Pamfilova said at the commission’s information center. "Today, early in the morning, a very powerful act of sabotage was carried out in the Far East. When the saboteurs sawed through the communication transmission pole and cut the cable, they left four large Russian regions of without connectivity," she said. "We regard the incident as a targeted act of sabotage and an attempt to disrupt the voting in the region," Pamfil

Scale of outage: four large regions cut off, stated flat — “the saboteurs left four large regions of without connectivity”

Measure chosen: four regions cut off, stated flat, and the people who did it called saboteurs — “the saboteurs left four large regions of without connectivity”

Read it at TASS → https://tass.com/politics/2190075

T The Insider — exile

«Ростелеком» сообщил о диверсии на линиях связи в ряде регионов во время выборов. Трансляция на нескольких участках временно прервалась

The only report sourced to Rostelecom: sabotage 'in a number of regions', and broadcasts briefly cut at several polling stations. We hold only the headline.

Содержание 1.«Ростелеком» сообщил об обрыве линий, назвав произошедшее диверсией для срыва выборов 2.Местные информационные ресурсы обновлялись во время, как утверждается, обрыва линий 3.Сначала «атак практически не было», затем — «очень мощная» атака «Ростелеком» сообщил о двух повреждениях магистральных линий связи на Дальнем Востоке во второй день выборов в Госдуму и назвал произошедшее «организованной диверсией» с целью сорвать голосование. По данным компании, на Сахалине неизвестные спилили опору линии Холмск — Томари, а примерно через два часа в Хабаровском крае кабель между Селихино и Я

Read it at The Insider → https://theins.ru/news/297299

U Ukrainska Pravda — independent

У Росії поскаржилися на масштабну кібератаку на виборчу систему Москви

Adds 'allegedly' ('нібито') in the outlet's own voice, the only report to hedge the attack itself.

Голова російського Центрвиборчкому Елла Памфілова заявила, що в ніч на 19 вересня виборча система Москви нібито зазнала масштабної та інтенсивної кібератаки. Джерело: російський РБК із посиланням на Памфілову Деталі: За словами голови ЦВК РФ, атака тривала практично безперервно всю ніч і станом на ранок продовжувалася. Водночас Памфілова стверджує, що система дистанційного електронного голосування в Москві працює у штатному режимі і голосування не переривалося. Напередодні голова Московської міської виборчої комісії Ольга Кириллова також заявляла, що атаки на систему електронного голосування с

Hedged claim: adds 'allegedly' to the cyberattack claim — “виборча система Москви нібито зазнала масштабної та інтенсивної кібератаки”

How hard the claim is stated: the report adds 'allegedly' (нібито) in its own voice — “нібито зазнала масштабної та інтенсивної кібератаки”

Read it at Ukrainska Pravda → https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2026/09/19/8054233/

U Ukrainska Pravda — independent

Russia reports major cyberattack on Moscow's electoral system

The English version uses 'has claimed' and dates the attack to the night of 18–19 September.

Ella Pamfilova, Head of Russia's Central Election Commission, has claimed that Moscow's electoral system came under a large-scale and intensive cyberattack on the night of 18-19 September. Source: Russian media outlet RBC, citing Pamfilova Details: Pamfilova said the attack continued almost without interruption throughout the night and was still ongoing in the morning. She nevertheless claimed that Moscow's remote electronic voting system is operating as usual and that voting has not been interrupted. The day before, Olga Kirillova, Head of the Moscow City Election Commission, also said attack

Attribution verb: 'has claimed' rather than 'said' — “has claimed that Moscow's electoral system came under a large-scale and intensive cyberattack”

How hard the claim is stated: the cyberattack is attributed with 'claimed' — “has claimed that Moscow's electoral system came under a large-scale and intensive cyberattack”

Read it at Ukrainska Pravda → https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/09/19/8054233/

I Interfax —

В голосовании на выборах в Москве приняли участие более 2,8 млн человек

Quotes the observers' headquarters saying voting ran 'normally despite massive attacks', alongside the 2.8 million figure.

В голосовании на выборах в Москве приняли участие более 2,8 млн человек Москва. 19 сентября. INTERFAX.RU - В голосовании на выборах в столице приняли участие свыше 2,8 млн человек, сообщили в Общественном штабе по наблюдению за выборами в Москве. "Второй день голосования на выборах в Государственную Думу и Совет депутатов муниципального округа Щукино проходит в столице штатно несмотря на массированные атаки (кибератаки - ИФ). Общая явка на середину второго дня выборов в Москве составила более 2,8 млн человек", - говорится в сообщении, опубликованном на сайте штаба в субботу. 2,5 млн - избирате

No actor named: 'massive attacks' are reported, but no attacker is named — “проходит в столице штатно несмотря на массированные атаки”

Read it at Interfax → https://www.interfax.ru/moscow/1117093

R Regnum —

МГИК: в голосовании в Москве приняли участие более 2,8 млн человек

Splits the Moscow vote, citing the city election commission: about 2.5 million electronic, about 300,000 on paper.

Более 2,8 миллиона человек приняли участие в выборах в Москве к середине второго дня голосования. Из них около 2,5 млн избирателей проголосовали электронно — онлайн или с помощью терминалов на участках, еще порядка 300 тыс. человек воспользовались бумажными бюллетенями. Голосование на выборах в Госу...

Read it at Regnum → https://regnum.ru/news/4062723

V Vedomosti —

Памфилова: продолжается кибератака на московскую платформу ДЭГ

Хакеры в данный момент проводят мощную кибератаку на московскую платформу электронного голосования, однако она успешно отражается. Об этом сообщила председатель Центрального избирательного комитета России Элла Памфилова в информационном центре ЦИК. «Буквально этой ночью и сейчас продолжается очень мощная кибератака на московскую платформу дистанционного электронного голосования, но никто этого не заметил», – подчеркнула глава ЦИК (цитата по «РИА Новости»). Памфилова подчеркнула, что Россия имеет средства защиты, поэтому избиратели продолжают «спокойно голосовать», не обратив внимания на кибера

Read it at Vedomosti → https://www.vedomosti.ru/politics/news/2026/09/19/1230172-prodolzhaetsy…

R Regnum —

ОШ Москвы: наблюдаем атаку на ДЭГ, она не влияет на процесс голосования

The only technical detail: the observers' headquarters says the attacks hit network levels L2, L3 and L7, and their profile keeps changing. It names no attacker.

Общественный штаб по наблюдению за выборами в Москве сообщил о продолжающейся кибератаке на инфраструктуру дистанционного электронного голосования. По данным штаба, атаки проходят на разных уровнях — L2, L3 и L7, а их профиль динамически меняется. Специалисты принимают необходимые меры для обеспечен...

No actor named: gives technical detail of the attack but no attacker — “атаки проходят на разных уровнях — L2, L3 и L7”

Read it at Regnum → https://regnum.ru/news/4062720

L Life.ru —

Спиленная опора и повреждённый кабель: ЦИК сообщил о двух диверсиях во время выборов

Gives the smallest account, citing the commission: two trunk lines down on Sakhalin and in Khabarovsk Krai, access restored within an hour. The headline adds a felled pylon and a damaged cable.

В одном случае причиной сбоя стала спиленная опора, в другом был повреждён кабель. Из-за происшествий качество интернет-доступа на Дальнем Востоке ненадолго снизилось. Быстро вернуть соединение помогли резервные каналы и работа аварийных бригад. Председатель ЦИК Элла Памфилова расценила оба эпизода как целенаправленные диверсии и попытку помешать голосованию. Глава комиссии поблагодарила команду «Ростелекома» за оперативную реакцию. Она подчеркнула, что выборы состоятся. «Враг не пройдёт, выборы состоятся, а правоохранители разберутся в причинах и найдут виновных», — отметила она. В России 18,

Scale of outage: two trunk lines, restored within an hour — “временно вышли из строя две магистральные линии связи, но доступ к сети восстановили в течение часа”

Measure chosen: two trunk lines down, with no actor named, and restored within the hour — “временно вышли из строя две магистральные линии связи, но доступ к сети восстановили в течение часа”

Read it at Life.ru → https://life.ru/p/spilennaya-opora-i-povrezhdennyy-kabel-tsik-soobschil…

L Life.ru —

Московская платформа ДЭГ остаётся под мощной кибератакой, заявила Памфилова

Puts the attack claim and 'the system is working normally' in the same sentence, both from Pamfilova.

По словам главы комиссии, атака продолжалась всю ночь и не прекратилась утром 19 сентября. Памфилова охарактеризовала её как масштабную и интенсивную. При этом технические специалисты отражают попытки воздействия на систему. Памфилова заявила, что ЦИК не получал сообщений об инцидентах или жалоб от избирателей из-за работы московского ДЭГ. Глава Центризбиркома также заявила, что защищённость платформы позволяет сохранять непрерывность голосования и безопасность данных. По её словам, ситуация находится под контролем специалистов. Москва использует собственную систему электронного голосования. В

Reassurance carried: the commission's 'working normally' line runs next to the attack claim — “Несмотря на это, система работает штатно и избиратели продолжают голосовать”

Voice quoted: only the official says the system worked normally, and nobody checks it — “Несмотря на это, система работает штатно и избиратели продолжают голосовать”

Read it at Life.ru → https://life.ru/p/moskovskaya-platforma-deg-ostaetsya-pod-moschnoy-kibe…

R Regnum —

2,5 миллиона человек приняли участие в электронном голосовании в Москве

В электронном голосовании на выборах депутатов Государственной думы в Москве уже приняли участие 2,5 млн человек. Проголосовать можно отдать онлайн на портале mos.ru или с помощью терминалов электронного голосования на избирательных участках. Выборы в столице проходят в штатном режиме. Электронное г...

Read it at Regnum → https://regnum.ru/news/4062717

R Regnum —

Памфилова: кибератака на московскую платформу ДЭГ продолжается

Carries Pamfilova's own words: 'a very powerful cyberattack' continuing 'this night and now'.

Кибератака на московскую платформу Дистанционного электронного голосования (ДЭГ) продолжается. Об этом 19 сентября сообщила председатель ЦИК Элла Памфилова. «Буквально этой ночью и сейчас продолжается очень мощная кибератака на московскую платформу дистанционного электронного голосования, но ни один...

Read it at Regnum → https://regnum.ru/news/4062715

Checked, didn’t cover

M Meduza R RIA Novosti T The Moscow Times S Suspilne U Ukrinform M Mediazona N Novaya Gazeta Europe

Silence is recorded, not inferred — each of these was read when we built this story and carried nothing on this event.

Read another desk

Sections

Registers

Desks

Pamfilova, per TASS: saboteurs cut off 'four large regions'. Her commission, per Life.ru: two lines, back within an hour

What is being argued about

An attack with no attacker

Four regions or two lines

Claims and verdicts

Who wrote it

Coverage, outlet by outlet