Merz insists he will stay as German chancellor despite heavy losses in state elections – Europe live

CDU suffered heavy losses in two regional elections, including in home state of former leader Angela Merkel, where it polled just 4.9%

Also rolling in this morning are the numbers from Russia’s orchestrated lower-house election, where Vladimir Putin’s party has retained a huge majority against token opposition.

Electoral officers say the ruling United Russia party is on track to gain 355 of the 450 seats in the State Duma - even larger than the previous 2016 record.

It’s the first election since the Kremlin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine four-and-a-half years ago and parties critical of Putin were excluded from the vote.

The EU’s Kaja Kallas has slammed the sham this morning, calling it “another major setback for Russian democracy.”