Russia began voting on Friday in an election set to extend President Vladimir Putin's rule for another six years, as Kiev branded the vote a “travesty” and launched deadly attacks on border areas.
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Moscow officials warned against protests during the March 15-17 presidential vote after opposition parties called for anti-Putin demonstrations on Sunday.
The Kremlin says the vote will show that the country fully supports the attack on Ukraine and that polling stations will be set up in Russian-controlled areas.
Ahead of the election, Kiev has stepped up airstrikes on Russian regions across the common border.
Russia's National Guard also said it was repelling an attack by pro-Ukrainian militias in Kursk, the latest in a series of border clashes.
In a speech to the Russian people on the eve of the vote, President Putin said: “I am sure that you all understand how difficult times our country is going through, how complex the challenges we face in almost all areas.'' You understand,” he said.
“And we need to remain united and confident in order to continue to respond to them with dignity and successfully overcome difficulties.”
Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. local time on Friday at 8 a.m. local time on Russia's easternmost Kamchatka Peninsula, and are scheduled to close at 8 p.m. Sunday (6 p.m. Japan time) in Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave on the border with Poland and Lithuania. ing.
“Border Clash”
All of Putin's main critics have died in prison or exile, and authorities have blocked the few genuine competitors who tried to enter the contest.
Alexei Navalny, Putin's most high-profile opponent of the past decade, died in an Arctic prison in February. He served 19 years in prison on charges of “extremism,” a sentence widely seen as retaliation for his campaign against Kremlin leaders.
Moscow prosecutors warned against protests during the election.
“Organizing and participating in such large-scale events are punishable by the laws in place,” they said in a statement posted on Telegram.
Navalny's widow Yulia Navalnaya called for a rally outside the polling station on Sunday, the last day of voting.
Kiev this week launched some of the heaviest airstrikes since the start of the two-year conflict.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia's Belgorod region, said at least three air strikes killed two people and injured several others.
He accused Ukraine of “trying to sow panic, mistrust, anger and resentment in order to destroy the unit of our society.”
Pro-Ukrainian militias also claimed to be escalating attacks and incursions in Russia's border areas.
In a joint statement, three pro-Kiev volunteer groups claiming to be made up of armed anti-Kremlin Russians called on authorities to evacuate civilians from Belgorod and Kursk regions.
The governors of each region added, “Civilians should not suffer in war, and they will follow their conscience even if they suffer casualties during the battle.''
Russia denies claims that the militias have grown in strength.
The National Guard said its troops repelled a similar attack near the village of Chokino in Kursk.
The Defense Ministry said it had repelled another clash by Ukrainian forces attempting to enter Belgorod via the village of Spodariushino, but did not say when the clash occurred.
“Don't deviate”
Winning the election would keep Putin in the Kremlin until at least 2030, longer than any Russian leader since Catherine the Great in the 18th century.
He called on Russians to use the vote to show unity behind his leadership.
“We have already shown that we can come together to protect Russia's freedom, sovereignty and security,” he said in a video message featuring the Russian tricolor flag and the president's national emblem.
“Today it is very important not to stray from this path,” he said.
Early voting has already begun in the occupied territories of Ukraine. Voting will also take place in Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014, a move that most of the international community refuses to recognize.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller condemned the vote in Russian-controlled territory.
“The United States does not and will never recognize the legitimacy or results of these fraudulent elections in sovereign Ukraine.”
In the Russian-ruled Ukrainian city of Mariupol, election authorities on Thursday opened pop-up voting stations on the streets and at small tables on the hoods of cars.
A banner featuring a red, white and blue “V” logo was unfurled. This is a military symbol used as a sign of support for military attacks.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry on Thursday called on international media and celebrities to “refrain from calling this farce an 'election' in the language of democracies.”
(AFP)
