Russian President Vladimir Putin won a landslide victory in the country’s presidential election. He gathered the support of 87% of the voters, according to the data of the first exit poll.
Voting closed in Kaliningrad, Russia’s westernmost time zone, after which the first preliminary results were announced.
Russia today said it had been attacked by a wave of Ukrainian drones today as thousands headed to the polls for the final day of the three-day election.
Europe protested against Putin and the elections in Russia
Queues of people formed outside polling stations in Moscow and St Petersburg at midday after the Russian opposition called on people to collectively cast invalid ballots or vote against Putin.
The three-day vote was marred by a wave of fatal Ukrainian drone attacks, incursions into Russian territory by pro-Kiev sabotage groups and vandalism at polling stations.
Ukrainian drones have attacked at least eight Russian regions in the past 24 hours, with some reaching the Moscow region.
Three airports serving the capital briefly halted operations while a drone attack in the south sparked a fire at an oil refinery.
In the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine’s Zaporozhye region, where elections were also held, “kamikaze drones” set fire to a polling station.
Last “legitimate” protest
In the first days of the election, there were repeated protests, with a series of arrests of Russians accused of pouring paint on ballot boxes or arson.
Before his death in an Arctic prison last month, opposition leader Alexei Navalny called on Russians to vote collectively in protest against Putin.
Any public dissent in Russia has been harshly punished since the start of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Over the past three days, there have been repeated warnings from the authorities of harsh punishments against protesters.
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