Ukraine attacking Russian polling stations – officials
Russian electoral commissions in Kherson Region and Zaporozhye Region have reported several Ukrainian attacks on polling stations which have opened for the ongoing presidential vote.
On Saturday morning, Ukrainian forces dropped an explosive device from a drone, targeting a polling station in Blagoveshchenka, a village in Zaporozhye Region, a local electoral official, Natalya Ryabenkaya, told TASS.
She claimed that it was “some phosphorus ordnance,” citing Russian military personnel that had arrived at the scene. The attack did not cause any casualties or material damage.
“We won’t be intimidated, we will be receiving people, all citizens who wish to vote,” the official told the news agency.
On Friday, Kherson Region’s election commission said that Ukrainian forces shelled buildings in the city of Kakhovka as well as Brilevka, a village, where an unspecified number of people were injured.
“Unfortunately, the citizens’ freedom to vote is like a bone stuck in the throat of the Kiev regime,” the commission wrote on Telegram. Officials also vowed to continue their work and ensure that locals “can vote on such an important day” despite the “enemies’ attempts to intimidate us.”
Minutes later, the officials reported that an improvised explosive device had been detonated in a trash can outside a polling station in the city of Skadovsk, with the incident resulting in no casualties.
According to local authorities, the turnout in Kherson Region on Saturday, the second day of voting, reached 77%. Over 72% of eligible voters have cast their ballots in Zaporozhye Region.
The two formerly Ukrainian regions joined Russia in late 2022 following referendums, along with the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.
The ongoing presidential election spans three days, commencing on March 15 and concluding on March 17. Alongside the incumbent head of state, Vladimir Putin, three other candidates are vying for the nation’s highest office - Leonid Slutsky, Nikolay Haritonov, and Vladislav Davankov.
