On Saturday, the second day of presidential elections in Russia took place, in which almost a third of the 112 million Russians who have the right to vote participated on Friday, EFE and Agerpres reported.

According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), more than 30% of Russians exercised their right to vote on Friday, to which should be added 2.6 million people who voted early because of the war in Ukraine.

On Friday, several people were arrested for splashing ballot boxes with ink, paint and antiseptic or throwing Molotov cocktails in the direction of polling stations.

In addition, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused Ukraine of trying to derail his re-election through attacks and border incursions.

“With the aim of disrupting the elections, terrorizing people in several regions bordering Ukraine, the neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv planned and is trying to carry out demonstrative military actions (…) These enemy attacks cannot and will not go unpunished,” said Putin, who presided over a meeting of the Security Council of the Russian Federation in videoconference mode, in which Minister of Defense Serhiy Shoigu took part.

Attack on Belgorod

At least two Russian civilians were killed in a Ukrainian strike with 15 Vampire missiles on Belgorod, while Russia in turn attacked a residential area of ​​the Ukrainian city of Odesa on Friday, killing at least 20 people and injuring 70.

Putin, 71, voted from his office on Friday in an effort to promote electronic voting, which the opposition says is rigged.

According to official polls, Putin is on track to win more than 80% of the vote, so he could achieve his biggest electoral victory since coming to power in 2000.

Elections were also held in Ukrainian regions partially occupied by Russians

The support of the representative of the “New People” party Vladyslav Davankov and the communist Mykola Kharitonov is 6%, and the ultra-nationalist Leonid Slutsky is credited with about 5% of electoral intentions.

Part of the Kremlin opposition decided to support Davankov, whose position on the war in Ukraine is ambiguous, while others called on people to vote at noon on Sunday in the so-called “noon”.Putin, whose participants were threatened. with prosecution by the Russian prosecutor’s office.

Approximately 4.5 million voters can vote in the Russian-occupied territories of four Ukrainian regions illegally annexed by Moscow (Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia).

After the death in prison of the leader of the Russian opposition, Alexei Navalny, his supporters – who place direct responsibility for the death of the main opponent of the Kremlin on Putin – asked the West not to recognize the results of the presidential election.