Vladimir Putin condemned the Ukrainian attempt to “disrupt” the vote

Polling stations are closed in the Russian capital on the first day of the election, which is scheduled to continue for three days until Sunday.

They will reopen at 8am tomorrow.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres “condemns” Russian holding elections in “authorized” Ukrainian territories, the organization’s spokesman said.

“The Secretary General condemns the attempts of the Russian Federation to hold its presidential elections in the territories of Ukraine occupied by the Russian Federation. He recalls that there is no justification for the illegal attempt to annex the territories of Ukraine. Recognition under international law,” Stéphane Dujarric. Reiterating the United Nations’ commitment to Ukraine’s “independence” and “territorial integrity,” a statement said.

Vladimir Putin voted online during the Russian presidential election, announcing public television, which broadcast the images.

The president walks to his desk, before sitting down in front of his computer. “Thank you, you have successfully voted,” it reads.

Russian news agency RIA Novosti said 11 polling stations in the People’s Republic of Lugansk were evacuated due to “threats of attack”.

The offices, located in the city of Starobilsk, were under threat of “missile attack”.

According to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, turnout in the presidential election at 5:31 pm Moscow time was 25.03%.

Data based on Central Election Commission statistics of the country.

At least 13 people were arrested in Russia today for damage or arson attacks targeting polling stations, according to authorities.

The motive for these actions is unclear, it has not been established that they are a protest against the government. NGO OVD-Info raised possible telephone scams against the promise of financial compensation, which are common in Russia.

The head of the Electoral Commission, Ella Pamfilova, said these people were working for money promised by “bastards from abroad”.

The Ukrainian attacks are an attempt to “disrupt” the Russian presidential election, President Vladimir Putin condemned during a televised meeting of his Security Council, on the first day of a presidential election marred by incidents at polling stations.

The head of state also promised to respond to Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil. “These enemy strikes will not and will not go unpunished.” “I am sure that our people, the Russian people, will react with greater solidarity,” he added.

Go to the polls on Sunday March 17 at noon, dress in the colors of the anti-war flag, write Alexei Navalny’s name on the ballot paper…

Opponents of Vladimir Putin explain to us a planned initiative to protest against the announced re-election of the master of the Kremlin.

As images taken by the Reuters agency show, televisions at a polling station in Moscow last night broadcast excerpts of the head of state’s interview on French television, during which Emmanuel Macron was called an “adversary” of Russia. “We are not waging war against Russia,” he qualified, however.

For several weeks, the French president has become the main target of Russian propagandists.

As the presidential election begins in Russia, the President of the European Council sarcastically congratulates Vladimir Putin on his re-election, which is beyond doubt.

“I would like to congratulate Vladimir Putin on his resounding victory in the elections starting today,” he wrote on social network X. “No opposition, no freedom, no alternative,” he wrote. – he adds.

At least eight people have been arrested so far on the first day of Russia’s presidential election for damaging polling stations, according to authorities. A woman was arrested after setting fire to a polling station in Moscow, according to Russian media.

Five of them were “detained” in Moscow and in the regions of Voronezh, Rostov and Karachay-Cherkessia after spraying ballots placed in ballot boxes with “coloring liquid”, security forces explained. Order in separate communication.

Two other persons were arrested separately for trying to set ballot boxes on fire and trying to burst firecrackers in the polling station.

If it’s a foregone conclusion, the Russian presidential election was marred by separate protest actions and renewed attacks on border areas from Ukraine.

A young woman in St. Petersburg tried to set a polling station on fire with a Molotov cocktail. Another set fire to a polling station in Moscow, while a bomb exploded in front of a polling station in Kherson region without causing any casualties.

The Russian presidential vote, set to triumphantly re-elect Vladimir Putin, opens this Friday, March 15.

In a vote from Friday to Sunday that the Kremlin master should be reappointed for an additional six-year mandate, opposition has been eliminated.

Hello and welcome to this live, dedicated to the Russian presidential election that began this Friday, March 15. Election under tension with numerous incidents already reported.