The start of Russia’s three-day election weekend was marred by protests, military conflict, and reported cyber attacks, as President Vladimir Putin is almost certain to win another six-year term.
Western officials and Russian adversaries have once again accused Moscow officials of allegedly influencing the country’s presidential election in favor of Putin. This accusation comes as several of Putin’s challengers found themselves running their campaigns from behind bars or being barred from appearing on the presidential ballot. Interestingly, if everything goes according to Putin’s plan, he could potentially remain in power until 2036, thanks to a law he signed in 2021.
Arrests occurred at multiple polling stations on Friday when protesters poured dye into ballot boxes in Moscow, Crimea, and the Karachayevo-Cherkessia region, as reported by Russian media. One incident was caught on camera and shared on X by Robyn Dixon, the Moscow bureau chief of The Washington Post. The footage depicts a woman pouring a dark-colored dye into a ballot box at an undisclosed polling location before quickly being apprehended by a law enforcement officer.
According to a report by Saint Petersburg news outlet Fontanka, a 21-year-old woman has been apprehended for allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail at a polling site in the Moskovsky District. The woman confessed to the police that she had received instructions to commit the act of arson from a “Ukrainian Telegram channel” in return for monetary compensation.
According to a spokesperson from Kyiv’s military intelligence agency (HUR), Ukrainian officials have announced that they hacked Russia’s online voting systems on Friday. The spokesperson, speaking to The Kyiv Independent, stated that the agency was actively working to disrupt the online election systems, emphasizing that there was a lack of elections and democracy in Russia.
According to reports, there have been cross-border attacks along Russia’s border with Ukraine. Pro-Kyiv Russian militia groups have claimed to have gained control of a village in the Kursk region recently. During a meeting for Russia’s Security Council, Putin expressed that his country’s western regions have been subjected to repeated shelling. He also stated that approximately 2,500 armed Ukrainian “proxies” were responsible for carrying out these attacks.
According to Reuters, the Kremlin leader emphasized that these enemy strikes will not go without consequences.
Russia’s electoral commission chair, Ella Pamfilova, expressed her disapproval of protests and the destruction of ballot box locations. In an interview with Russian media, she emphasized that such actions are punishable by up to five years in jail.
Pamfilova expressed her disdain for those individuals who sought to undermine the integrity of the voting process, specifically targeting those who were motivated by financial gain. She referred to reports suggesting that some of the detained culprits had been allegedly paid by Ukraine.
According to a report from the BBC, Russian-appointed officials in the occupied territories of Ukraine have stated that an explosive device was detonated in a trash bin outside a polling station in Skadovsk, a small, port-side city in the Kherson region. Thankfully, no injuries were reported in the attack.
Kyiv officials have strongly condemned Moscow’s decision to hold presidential elections in the illegally annexed Ukrainian territories of 2022. They are urging their allies to take a firm stand against Russia’s intentions and impose sanctions on those involved in the organization and conduct of these elections.
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