Russia accuses Ukraine of ‘terrorist activities’ to disrupt presidential election

Russia accused Ukraine on Saturday (local time) of using “terrorist activity” to try to disrupt its presidential election, with former president Dmitry Medvedev denouncing scattered protesters who tried to set fire to polling stations and pour dye into ballot boxes as “traitors” “.

The war in Ukraine has cast a shadow over the electoral vote, with President Vladimir Putin almost certain to remain in the Kremlin for another six years, but there have been sporadic protests.

On the second day of three days of voting, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Kiev had “stepped up election-related terrorist activities” and “demonstrated its activities to Western controllers and begged for more financial aid and lethal weapons”.

In one such incident, a Ukrainian drone allegedly dropped a shell at a polling station in a Russian-controlled area of ​​Ukraine’s Zaporozhye region.

The state-run TASS news agency quoted local election officials as saying that the explosive device landed five or six meters away from the polling station before it opened in a village about 20 kilometers east of the city of Enehodar, without causing any damage or casualties. .

Reuters could not independently verify the incident.

There was no immediate comment from officials in Ukraine, which considers the election held in parts of Russia-controlled territory to be illegal and invalid.

Meanwhile, Ella Pamfilova, chairwoman of the Election Commission, said that two days before the vote, there had been 20 incidents of attempts to destroy ballots by pouring various liquids into ballot boxes, as well as eight attempted arson incidents. and smoke bombs.

Commenting on the incidents, Medvedev said the perpetrators could face 20 years in prison for treason.

“This is direct aid to the depraved elements who shelled our cities today,” he posted on social media, referring to the attacks in Ukraine.

On the final day of voting on Sunday, supporters of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny called on people to vote en masse at noon in rolling protests against Putin across the country’s 11 time zones.

Ukraine attacks

Russian media quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that Putin had received military reports in recent days of saboteur attacks in the Belgorod and Kursk border areas, including several at night. Putin said all attacks were thwarted.

A senior Ukrainian intelligence official said on Thursday that Russian armed groups he said opposed the Kremlin had turned the areas into “active war zones.”

Kirillo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s military intelligence service, said on Saturday that organizations such as the Free Corps of Russia, the Siberian Battalion and the Russian Volunteer Army were “becoming a force with unified principles.”

He said in a Ukrainian television interview that the groups were fighting “pretty well” and would not stop anytime soon, adding, “We will try to help them.”

In the Belgorod region, where cross-border attacks from Ukraine have become part of daily life, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported that a man and a woman were killed in missile strikes , one man was injured later in the day after he said Russian defenses shot down 15 rockets approaching the regional capital.

Video obtained by Reuters showed flames burning in the empty streets of Belgorod and air raid sirens blaring.

Dmitry Azarov, the governor of the Samara region, 850 kilometers southeast of Moscow, said the Syzran refinery caught fire after a drone strike but that an attack on a second refinery had been foiled.

Officials said the fire was later brought under control, but the incidents highlighted Ukraine’s ability to target energy industries hundreds of miles inside Russia. Two other major refineries were set on fire this week.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a nightly video address that it had become clear in recent weeks that Ukraine could use its weapons to exploit vulnerabilities in what he called “Russia’s war machine.”

Russia launched its deadliest attack in weeks on Friday, with missiles targeting a residential area in Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odessa, killing at least 21 people and wounding more than 70.

Putin’s dominance

Putin’s power is not threatened in the election. The 71-year-old dominates Russia’s political landscape, having served as president or prime minister since the last day of 1999.

The other three candidates on the ballot – veteran communist Nikolai Kharitonov, nationalist Leonid Slutsky or deputy chairman of the lower house of parliament Vladislav Davankov – —neither presented any credible challenge.

Overall turnout rose to more than 58% on the second day of voting, an important indicator as Putin seeks to demonstrate that the entire country has his back.

In the Belgorod region this proportion exceeds 76%. Voter turnout was also high in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine.

Russia’s ruling United Russia party said it was facing a widespread denial-of-service attack – a type of cyberattack designed to paralyze network traffic – and had suspended non-essential services to defend against the attack.

State news agency RIA Novosti cited a senior telecommunications official as saying the cyberattack was blamed on Ukraine and Western countries.