Critics of Putin and his Kremlin regime have called for mass protests at Russian polling stations on Sunday, the final day of a presidential election that is sure to cement his hard-line rule.
The three-day vote has been hit by bombings in Ukraine and a series of incursions into Russian territory by anti-Putin sabotage groups. A drone strike caused a fire at an oil refinery in Slavyansk, Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, early Sunday and officials said one person died from a heart attack at the refinery, while the Russian city of Belgoro on Saturday Drone strike in Germany killed two people. according to officials.
On Sunday morning, the Russian Defense Ministry reported 35 Ukrainian drone incursions, four in the Moscow region and two in the neighboring Kaluga and Yaroslavl regions. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said more Ukrainian drones struck the Belgorod, Kursk and Rostov regions bordering Ukraine and the southern Krasnodar region.
As Russians went to the polls, protests continued, including pouring dye into ballot boxes and arson attacks on polling stations.
Russia’s main opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who incited massive anti-Putin rallies before his death in an Arctic prison last month, urged Russians to protest on Sunday.
His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, reiterated his call on the eve of the election and said protesters should appear in large numbers at once to overwhelm polling stations.
She called on protesters to spoil the ballots by writing “Navalny” on them, or to vote for a candidate other than Putin.
Since Moscow launched its offensive against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, any public dissent in Russia has been severely punished, and authorities have repeatedly issued warnings against election protests.
Russia’s opposition called on people to go to polling stations at noon in what they hoped would be a legitimate show of force against Putin.
A Moscow resident in his twenties said he would attend the midday protest in the capital “just to see the young supportive faces around me… to feel some support around me and to see what’s going on in this dark tunnel” ‘s light”.
The man, who declined to be named for security reasons, said he hoped the demonstrations would show authorities that “there are people in this country who are against the conflict… against the regime”.
Putin, 71, a former KGB agent, has been in power since the last day of 1999 and has extended control of Russia until at least 2030. If he completes another term in the Kremlin, he will remain in power longer than any Russian leader. Since Catherine the Great in the 18th century.
He ran without any real opponents, banned two candidates who opposed the conflict in Ukraine and jailed Navalny, leading to his death.
The Kremlin sees the election as an opportunity for Russians to show their support for attacks in Ukraine, where the vote is also taking place in Russian-controlled areas.
Voting will end in Kaliningrad, Russia’s westernmost time zone, and exit polls are expected to be released shortly.
A concert will be held in Red Square on Monday to mark the tenth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula – an event that is also expected to serve as a victory celebration for Putin.
Ukraine has repeatedly denounced the election as illegal and a “farce,” and its foreign ministry urged Western allies not to recognize the results.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and more than 50 member states blasted Moscow for holding the vote in parts of Ukraine, with Guterres saying “attempts to illegally annex” the areas were “invalid” under international law.
Russian state media has trumpeted recent gains on the front lines and described the conflict as an existential battle against the West.
Moscow has been trying to press its advantage on the front lines amid ammunition shortages amid disagreements over Western military support for Ukraine, although Ukraine says it has so far succeeded in halting Russia’s advance.
Russian missiles struck the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odessa on Friday, killing 21 people, including rescue workers who responded to the initial attack. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the attack “despicable.”
On the Russian side, the Belgorod region’s governor ordered on Saturday that shopping malls and schools in the city of Belgorod and surrounding areas would be closed for two days after the military reported repeated attempts by Ukrainian sabotage groups to cross the border into Russia.
Cooperation with AFP in Moscow
