Voting began today in Russia in an election that will extend President Vladimir Putin's rule for another six years, while Kiev declared the vote a "farce" and launched a series of deadly attacks in border regions.
Officials in Moscow warned against protests during the March 15-17 presidential vote after the opposition called for demonstrations against Putin.
The Kremlin says the vote will show the country fully supports its attack on Ukraine, and polling stations have been set up in Russian-controlled territories.
In the run-up to the election, Kiev has stepped up its air attacks on Russian regions adjacent to their shared border.
The Russian National Guard reported repelling attacks by pro-Ukrainian militias in Kursk, the latest in a series of border clashes.
"I am convinced: you realise what a difficult period our country is going through, what complex challenges we are facing in almost all areas," Putin said in an address to Russians on the eve of the vote.
"And to continue to meet them with dignity and successfully overcome the difficulties, we must continue to be united and confident."
Polls opened in the easternmost part of Russia's Kamchatka peninsula at 8:00 a.m. local time today, and will close in Kaliningrad - a Russian exclave bordering Poland and Lithuania - at 8:00 p.m. (1800 GMT) on Sunday.
All of Putin's main critics are dead, in jail or in exile, and authorities have blocked the few genuine rivals who tried to participate in the election.
Alexei Navalny, Putin's most prominent opponent in the past decade, died in February in an Arctic prison colony. He was serving 19 years for "extremism," a sentence seen as retribution for his campaign against the Kremlin leader.
The prosecutor's office in Moscow warned against protests during the election.
"Organizing these mass events and participating in them are punishable under current legislation," it said in a statement posted on Telegram.
Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalny, called for rallies outside polling stations on Sunday, the last day of voting./BGNES
