Russia said it was targeted by a wave of Ukrainian drones on Sunday, as thousands headed to the polls for a final day of elections set to extend President Vladimir Putin’s rule.
Queues of people were also seen forming outside polling stations in Moscow and Saint Petersburg at noon, when Russia’s opposition called for people to collectively spoil their ballots or vote against Putin.
The three-day vote had already been marred by a surge in fatal Ukrainian bombardment, incursions into Russian territory by pro-Kyiv sabotage groups and vandalism at polling stations.
Ukrainian drones attacked at least eight Russian regions overnight and on Sunday morning, with some reaching as far as the Moscow region, the defence ministry said.
Three airports serving the capital briefly suspended operations following the barrage, while a drone attack in the south sparked a fire at an oil refinery.
In the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, where voting is also taking place, “kamikaze drones” set a polling station ablaze, according to Moscow-installed authorities.
The defence ministry said it had “intercepted and destroyed 35 unmanned aerial vehicles” across the country.
– Last ‘legal’ protest –
There were repeated acts of protest in the first days of polling, with a spate of arrests of Russians accused of pouring dye into ballot boxes or arson attacks.
Before his death in an Arctic prison last month, opposition leader Alexei Navalny urged Russians to collectively vote at noon in a protest the opposition dubbed “Midday Against Putin”.
AFP reporters saw an increase in people queuing outside polling stations at midday (0900 GMT) in Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
“This is the last kind of protest action through which you can legally express yourself. It’s safe,” 29-year-old IT worker Alexander told AFP.
He voted around noon at a polling station in Maryino, a district of Moscow where Navalny used to cast his ballot.
“If I didn’t do it, I’d feel like a coward,” he said.
Elena, 52, who also voted around noon, doubted the demonstration would have much of an impact.
“Honestly, I don’t think it will show anything,” she told AFP.
Any public dissent in Russia has been harshly punished since the start of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 and there have been repeated warnings from the authorities against election protests.
