Russians will vote in a presidential election on Friday, with President Vladimir Putin almost certain to win a fifth term.
The vote will take place within three days, although the current leader has no credible opponent.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Thursday explain According to Reuters, any attempt by Russia to hold elections in the occupied territories or force the region’s residents to go to polling stations would be “illegal” – something NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg also expressed in a separate briefing Same point.
Meanwhile, skirmishes continued on Thursday in Russia’s border regions of Belgorod and Kursk between three Ukraine-based Russian paramilitary groups – the Russian Freikorps, the Siberian Battalion and the RDK Battalion — trying to break into Russian territory.
A member of the local election committee, accompanied by a military member, visits voters during early voting for Russia’s presidential election in Donetsk, Ukraine, March 14, 2024, during the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
Stringer | AFP | Getty Images
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on the Telegram messaging app that it repelled another incursion attempt in Belgorod on Thursday, but the Freikorps said attacks would continue until the region “frees itself from the troops of the Putin regime.” My hands are completely free.”
Officials in Ukraine’s southern Odessa region said Russian missiles struck a residential neighborhood early on Friday, causing a growing death toll.
Ukraine also shot down 27 Iranian-made drones in seven areas across the country in the early hours of Friday, including around the capital, the Kiev air force claimed.
On the other hand, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a television interview broadcast late Thursday that Russia cannot be allowed to win the war and doubled down on his refusal to rule out the possibility of NATO countries sending troops to Ukraine.
“If Russia wins, the lives of the French people will change. We will no longer have security in Europe. Who can really believe that Putin, who does not respect any restrictions, will stop there?” Macron said.
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