Thousands reportedly protest against Putin re-election
Although Vladimir Putin will, once again, to win the Russian presidential election, opponents have today staged a protest against the inevitability of his ongoing grip over the Kremlin.
Supporters of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny gathered at polling stations within Russia and beyond at midday local time for the so-called “Noon against Putin” protest. Many of them planned to spoil their ballot papers, to vote for one of the three opposition candidates, or to write in Navalny’s name.
Reports said thousands of people had taken part in the peaceful protests.
Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, participated in a protest outside the Russian embassy in Berlin, Germany, alongside others queuing to cast their votes.
Key events
Russian nationals living in the UK have been spoiling their presidential election ballots in protest against Putin extending his leadership.
The Russian Democratic Society (RDS) – described as a community of Russian immigrants in the UK – organised a Noon Against Putin demonstration outside the Russian Embassy in London.
On its Facebook event, the group said: “Protesters can express their protest by voting against Putin or by spoiling the ballot by checking two candidates, thus rendering it invalid but not subject to falsification.”
Aleksandra Kallenberg spoke to Sky News outside the Russian embassy in London and told the outlet she had spoiled her ballot by ticking three candidates besides Mr Putin.
“It is important, because I see my people, I see my nation, I see how many people are actually against the regime, against Putin, because our propaganda really tries to show that no-one is actually against (him) … and I see how many people are actually here today and that’s very inspiring,” Ms Kallenberg told the broadcaster.
Dmitrii Moskovskii, also at the London protest, told Sky News that the death of Mr Navalny had triggered a backlash against Mr Putin’s regime.
He said: “Many, many people inside Russia and outside of it have been saying to me that after Navalny’s death, they’ve really realised that this regime is crossing the line, that this regime is no more legitimate and cannot, do not, have a right to exist anymore.”
The crowd outside the embassy chanted “Russia without Putin, Putin is a killer”.
Outside Russian embassies around the world, Russian citizens queuing up to vote in the Russian presidential elections have been protesting again Putin’s rule.
In Moldova, a woman holding a placard depicting Adolf Hitler, Putin and Joseph Stalin protests in front of the Russian Embassy in Chisinau.
As voters queue outside the Russian embassy in Berlin, a woman holds a placard suggesting Putin is a monster.
A woman holds a placard calling for ‘Russian without Putin’ at a protest against the re-election of Putin opposite the Russian Embassy in London.
Summary
As we wait for the exit polls from Russia, here’s a roundup of the latest news today:
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Vladimir Putin is poised to tighten his grip on power with an expected landscape victory in the ongoing presidential election. While an emphatic win is expected, opponents of Putin have staged a symbolic noon protest at polling stations with further demonstrations outside Russian embassies around the world.
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At least 74 people have been arrested across Russia on Sunday in connection with the ongoing presidential election, according to OVD-Info. Despite tight controls, there have been several dozen cases of vandalism at polling stations.
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The turnout at Russia’s presidential election has surpassed 2018 levels in the final hours before the polls close. According to the TASS news agency, 67.54% of eligible voters had cast their ballots as of Sunday morning, eclipsing the 67.5% turnout seen six years ago.
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Vladimir Putin fears going to war with Nato nations, according to Estonia prime minister Kaja Kallas. Kallas told the BBC that while Putin is well able to “sow fear”, nation leaders should remember that he too has concerns.
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Russian proposals for peace are all centred around continued Ukrainian subjugation, Czech president Petr Pavel has claimed. Pavel told Czech Radio on Saturday that the Kremlin’s proposals to date have all been a “diktat”.
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British defence secretary Grant Shapps was forced to abandon a trip to Ukraine’s southern city of Odesa because of a Russian missile threat. As he flew to Poland last week, Shapps was notified that a convoy carrying both the Ukrainian president and Greek prime minister had narrowly avoided a Russian missile strike.
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At least five people have been injured after Russian forces attacked the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. The region’s governor, Vitalii Kim, has said that the injuries of the victims are not critical.
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Ukraine’s GDP rose by 3.6% during the first two months of this year, according to the country’s economy minister. Yulia Svyrydenko said on Sunday that this was driven by “several factors”, including investment demand and agricultural exports.
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Long-range attack drones have hit 12 Russian oil refineries during the war so far, according to a Ukrainian intelligence source. The Russian defence ministry has so far confirmed a total of 35 Ukrainian drone incursions across various regions.
Russian arms exports fell by over 50% between 2019-2023, research finds
Russian arms exports fell by 53% between the periods 2014-2018 and 2019-2023, according to new research by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
The upshot was that Russia dropped from second to third place in the global arms export rankings. Only 12 countries received major Russian arms in 2023, compared to 31 in 2019.
Putin very good at sowing ‘fear’ among society but fears Nato war
Vladimir Putin is “afraid” of going to war with Nato nations, the prime minister of Estonia has claimed.
In an interview with the BBC reported by Ukrinform, Kaja Kallas urged nation leaders to also think about “what Putin is afraid of”.
“He has been threatening with nuclear war for quite some time. But it has been only words. He has been very good at sow fear within our societies and listening, what we are afraid of,” said Kallas.
“We also have to think what Putin is afraid of. And he is actually afraid of going to war with Nato countries. He doesn’t want that. And we, of course, don’t want it either,” she added.
More than 70 people have been arrested across Russia on Sunday in connection with the ongoing presidential election in the country.
OVD-Info, a group that monitors crackdowns on dissent, has reported that 74 arrests have been made nationwide.
Protestors descended upon polling stations in Moscow, St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg at noon to make their feelings known over Vladimir Putin’s ongoing control of the Kremlin.
Reuters has reported that, despite tight controls, there have been several dozen cases of vandalism at polling stations.
A woman was arrested in St. Petersburg after she threw a firebomb at a polling station entrance, and several others were detained across the country for throwing green antiseptic or ink into ballot boxes.
Dmitry Medvedev, a deputy head of the Russian Security Council chaired by Putin, called for toughening the punishment for those who vandalize polling stations, arguing they should face treason charges for attempting to derail the vote amid the fighting in Ukraine.
Putin looks set for a landslide victory after facing no credible rivals and overseeing a clamping down on political dissent. A new six-year term would enable him to take over Josef Stalin and become Russia’s longest-serving leader for more than 200 years.
At least five injured after Russian forces attack southern city of Mykolaiv
Russian forces have attacked the southern city of Mykolaiv twice with missiles earlier today.
The Kyiv Independent has reported that at least five people are wounded as a result of the attacks, which saw missiles hit the city one after another at around 2pm local time.
Regional governor Vitalii Kim has said that the injuries of the victims are not critical.
According to the governor, Russia carried out the attack from the same place as its previous strike against Odesa on 15 March. Twenty 21 people were killed in that attack, Moscow’s deadliest in weeks.
Twelve casualties in Belgorod region, one fatal
Ukrainian shelling in the Russian region of Belgorod has killed one man alongside injuring 11 others, the regional governor has said.
Belgorod is one of a number of regions affected by Ukrainian drone incursions overnight. On Sunday morning the Russian defence ministry reported that some 35 incursions had taken place, including in the Kursk and Rostov regions which also border Ukraine.
The number of casualties has been confirmed by the regional governor for Belgorod, Vyacheslav Gladkov, who said earlier on Sunday that a 16-year-old girl was killed in a separate shelling incident in the region.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports.
Outside Russian embassies around the world, protests are being staged against the re-election of Putin.
UK
France
Latvia
Finland
AFP reports that Moldovan police have detained a man after two firebombs were said to have been thrown at the Russian embassy in the capital city of Chisinau:
Media in Moldova, which borders Ukraine, reported that the embassy, where voting was underway for Russia’s presidential election, was attacked with Molotov cocktails. There were no injuries.
“A man threw two containers of flammable substances over the fence of the Russian embassy in Chisinau,” police said in a statement.
The 54-year-old Moldovan – who said he also has Russian citizenship – was “immediately detained” and being held for questioning, police said.
“He justified his action by some dissatisfaction he has with the actions of the Russian authorities,” police added.
Moldova this week protested Moscow’s decision to open several polling stations in separatist Transnistria during the Russian presidential election.
The country of 2.6 million situated between Ukraine and Romania wanted the vote to be organised only at the Russian embassy in Chisinau.
Thousands reportedly protest against Putin re-election
Although Vladimir Putin will, once again, to win the Russian presidential election, opponents have today staged a protest against the inevitability of his ongoing grip over the Kremlin.
Supporters of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny gathered at polling stations within Russia and beyond at midday local time for the so-called “Noon against Putin” protest. Many of them planned to spoil their ballot papers, to vote for one of the three opposition candidates, or to write in Navalny’s name.
Reports said thousands of people had taken part in the peaceful protests.
Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, participated in a protest outside the Russian embassy in Berlin, Germany, alongside others queuing to cast their votes.
Today so far
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Vladimir Putin is poised to tighten his grip on power on Sunday with an expected landscape victory in the ongoing presidential election. Opponents staged a symbolic noon protest at polling stations, while the three-day vote has been hit by Ukrainian bombardments and a series of incursions into Russian territory by anti-Putin sabotage groups.
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British defence secretary Grant Shapps was forced to abandon a trip to Ukraine’s southern city of Odesa because of a Russian missile threat. As he flew to Poland last week, Shapps was notified that a convoy carrying both the Ukrainian president and Greek prime minister had narrowly avoided a Russian missile strike.
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Ukraine’s GDP rose by 3.6% during the first two months of this year, according to the country’s economy minister. Yulia Svyrydenko said on Sunday that this was driven by “several factors”, including investment demand and agricultural exports.
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Russian proposals for peace are all centred around continued Ukrainian subjugation, Czech president Petr Pavel has claimed. Pavel told Czech Radio on Saturday that the Kremlin’s proposals to date have all been a “diktat”.
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The turnout at Russia’s presidential election has surpassed 2018 levels in the final hours before the polls close. According to the TASS news agency, 67.54% of eligible voters had cast their ballots as of Sunday morning, eclipsing the 67.5% turnout seen in 2018.
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Long-range attack drones have hit 12 Russian oil refineries during the war so far, according to a Ukrainian intelligence source. The Russian defence ministry has so far confirmed a total of 35 Ukrainian drone incursions across various regions.
Long-range Ukrainian attack drones have hit 12 Russian oil refineries during the war so far, a Ukrainian intelligence source told Reuters on Sunday.
Officials in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar said drones, launched by the SBU domestic security service, had attacked the Slavyansk oil refinery overnight.
On Sunday morning the Russian defence ministry confirmed a total of 35 Ukrainian drone incursions, including four in the Moscow region and two in the neighbouring Kaluga and Yaroslavl regions.
More Ukrainian drones attacked the Belgorod, Kursk and Rostov regions bordering Ukraine, as well as the southern Krasnodar region.
