Polls open in Russia as first elections since Putin invaded Ukraine kicks off
Only Kremlin-aligned parties and those supporting the invasion have registered to run
Voters are heading to the polls in Russia’s Far East for the first time since President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022.
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Polls opened early on Friday to kick off the three-day regional elections for seats in the Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament. It will run until 6pm on Sunday and will also take place in parts of Russian-occupied Ukraine.
However, Putin’s party is all but guaranteed to win, with only Kremlin-aligned parties and those supporting his conflict having registered to run.
The Russian leader has held the highest office since 1999 and his United Russia party has had a firm grip on power since the early 2000s.
The Kremlin has banned any criticism of its war in Ukraine and the Russian elections and is tightly controlling this election.
Putin's United Russia party faces competition from 10 other parties in the current elections, but the "systemic opposition" parties appear to support most of his policies.
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While unlikely to lose, it could give the Kremlin a clearer idea about public support for its ongoing war, which has dragged on for over four years.
Putin has all but declared the number of cast votes for a referendum on the conflict, claiming this week that casting a vote would help secure "Russia's victory".
It comes as his war appears to be entering a new phase, with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warning on Thursday it is planning strikes against countries supporting Ukraine.
"There is a real risk that drones or other types of projectiles will enter the territory of one or several countries on the eastern flank and even cause destruction. "The official narration will be that it's an accident and there is no reason for NATO to think about a response," he said in a speech in Polish Parliament on Thursday.
The remarks came after Poland temporarily shut two airports "due to operations of military aviation" by Russia as explosions sounded near the Ukraine-Poland border.
European countries suspect Moscow of being behind a series of acts of sabotage in recent months to put pressure on the allies, especially Germany, helping Kyiv in its bid to resist Russia's full-scale invasion - something the Kremlin has vigorously denied.
On Sunday, a Russian drone hit a passenger train in Ukraine, just two km from the Polish border. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson was on a train just in front.
Ukraine's state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia said that "quite possibly, the target of this drone could have been the diplomatic train".
In a post on X, Mr Johnson said: “I don’t know what warped logic drove Putin to blow up a stationary Ukrainian locomotive on the Polish border this morning.”
Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said Poland was strengthening airspace protection.
"We have increased F-16 and helicopter activity, and are reinforcing our air defence and rapid response systems," he wrote on X.
Tusk said he would visit Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday to discuss cooperation within the Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition, a group of European countries developing an air defence system with Ukraine as a cheaper alternative to the US-built Patriot.