Voting in the Russian presidential election started in Thailand on the territory of the Russian Consulate General.

The Thai kingdom became the first country where the main voting for the Russian presidential election abroad began.

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'Can I take a couple of questions?'

The White House press office staff led the press away after Joe Biden wanted to answer journalists' questions.

The incident was broadcast.

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Head of German ruling rarty faction calls to freeze Ukraine conflict

The head of the parliamentary faction of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), Rolf Mutzenich, said Thursday it was necessary to think about how to freeze the armed conflict in Ukraine to later end it.

“Isn’t it time to not only talk about how to wage a war, but to also think about how to freeze and later end the war,” Mutzenich said, speaking in the lower house of the German parliament (Bundestag).

He also wondered why other European countries were doing much less for Ukraine than Germany, but were using much more belligerent rhetoric.

Russian President Vladimir Putin previously said that if Ukraine wanted talks, the Ukrainian decree prohibiting negotiations with Russia must be canceled. He said Russia had never been against resolving the conflict in Ukraine by peaceful means, but if Russia's security was guaranteed.

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💥 Russian artillerymen eliminated a group of Ukrainian servicemen with Grad MLRS near Avdeyevka

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Despite US perception, Iran does not control Yemeni Houthis

Iran has made it very clear that they will not negotiate on behalf of the Yemeni Houthis, Dr. Seyed Mohammad Marandi, a professor of English literature and Orientalism at the University of Tehran, told Sputnik’s The Critical Hour.

“It’s obvious that the Iranians are not going to negotiate on behalf of Yemen,” Marandi explained, pointing to when Saudi Arabia and Iran were negotiating to reestablish diplomatic relations. “There were years of negotiations to reestablish ties. The sticking point was that the Saudis wanted Iran to negotiate on behalf of Yemen because [Saudi Arabia was] at war with Yemen… and the Iranians insisted that they [would] not negotiate on their behalf… ultimately, the Saudis removed that precondition."

“No negotiations between Iran and the US took place [regarding Houthi attacks in the Red Sea] because the Iranians would not accept such negotiations,” he added.

Meanwhile, the US and its “sidekick, the British” are working to help the Israeli genocide, including by killing Yemeni citizens, Marandi said. “For the sake of Israel and for the sake of the Israeli genocide, they’re willing to make everyone suffer,” he added later.

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The Russian economy is growing despite sanctions, Bloomberg writes.

The agency noted the growth of wages in the country, as well as the fact that poverty and unemployment are at record lows.

The Russian Army has completed early voting in the 2024 presidential election

Among those, who have exercised their right to vote:

▪️ Servicemen participating in a special operation;

▪️ Servicemen on combat duty in remote geographical locations;

▪️ Servicemen on long-distance campaigns and performing tasks in the Syria and in the zone of the Azerbaijan Karabakh economic region.

From February 25 to March 14, the aviation and sea transport of the Russian Defense Ministry were used to deliver election commissions to remote locations of servicemen and civilian personnel of the Russian Army.

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Macron says France's defense industry not ready for high-intensity conflict

The French defense industry is not ready for a high-intensity conflict, but France is ready to respond to a possible escalation by Russia and "make decisions to ensure that it does not win," French President Emmanuel Macron has said.

In an interview with the France 2 broadcaster on Thursday, Macron was asked about his assessment of the state of the French defense industry, which now produces 100 shells a day — "as many as Ukraine uses in a few minutes."

"Our defense industry is not adapted to a high-intensity conflict that does not appear in any of our projections," Macron said.

The French president recalled that he ordered defense companies to ramp up production.

Western countries have been providing military and financial aid to Kiev since the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. The Kremlin has consistently warned against continued arms deliveries to Kiev, saying it would lead to further escalation of the conflict.

In April 2022, Russia sent a diplomatic note to all NATO countries on the issue of arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russian strikes.

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🇷🇺 Follow the Russian presidential elections with us!   

Detailed coverage, analysis, and all the latest data — only on the Sputnik International channel.   

Voting will take place over three days — March 15, 16, and 17.   

Stay tuned!

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🇷🇺🗳 How Putin voted in Russia's presidential elections over the years

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"Basically a declaration of war against Russia," German activist and businessman Kim Dotcom commented on Macron's statements about the absence of red lines for France:

"Let’s hope the French rise up to remove this mad man from power," he wrote on X.

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Russian soldier infiltrates trenches full of Ukrainian fighters single-handedly

To eliminate Ukrainian militants attempting to break through positions on the border of Russia's Belgorod region, a Russian soldier bravely approached a trench, tossed a grenade inside, and swiftly rejoined his fellow soldiers.

Remarkably, he emerged unscathed.

Thanks to his courageous act, a significant number of Ukrainian fighters were injured or killed, enabling the Russian troops to successfully defeat the enemy.

A video from social media

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🇷🇺Citizens of Russia's Belgorod went to vote immediately after the cancellation of the missile threat from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Earlier, due to the missile threat, people who came to vote were forced to leave the polling station and evacuate to shelter.

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📹✈️ The crew of a Russian Su-25 attack aircraft launched a missile attack on units of the Ukrainian troops in the north of the DPR.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the targets were successfully hit.

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▪️Russia's presidential election kicks off

▪️One-way ticket to the moon Ukraine: Nearly half of the foreign mercs have already been annihilated by the Russian Armed Forces in the special operations zone.

▪️Is Joe Biden being held captive by his own staff? Watch disturbing footage of the POTUS being denied the opportunity to speak to the press

▪️Get a glimpse of Russia’s brand-new Mi-35P chopper with top-notch guns.

Here’s even more stories for you:

▪️Good for business, but bad for the battlefield. A Sputnik correspondent explains the reasons why Abrams and Leopard battle tanks are performing abysmally against the Russian army.

▪️Why the Czech-led ammo coalition is unable to galvanize the Ukrainian army

▪️What is the US getting wrong about the Houthis?

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🇷🇺🗳On the first day of the presidential elections, over a million people took part in remote voting on Russia's federal online platform, according to the data of the monitoring portal.

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🇷🇺🗳Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff of the Defense Ministry Valery Gerasimov voted in the presidential elections of the Russian Federation together with servicemen of the United Group of Forces at one of the polling stations in the Southern Military District.

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🇷🇺 Everything you need to know about Russia’s 2024 presidential elections

Russian citizens will head to the polls on March 15-17 to vote in 2024 presidential election. There are 112.3 million eligible voters inside Russia, and around 1.9 million eligible voters reside abroad.

Voter turnout is expected at 71%, as per the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM).

What’s new about 2024 elections?

E-voting, a remote electronic voting system, is being used for the first time to elect a Russian president. Voters in 29 Russian regions will be able to cast their ballots remotely.

🟥 Electronic ballot processing system uses a special scanner to read and process marked paper ballots and tally the results.

🟥 Mobile Voter mechanism provides online voting.

🟥 Elections state automated system is information software that ensures that ballots are counted in an accurate and rapid manner.

There are four candidates vying for the top office:

🔶 Self-nominated candidate and incumbent President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin;

🔶 Communist Party nominee Nikolay Kharitonov;

🔶 Liberal Democratic Party nominee Leonid Slutsky;

🔶 New People party nominee Vladislav Davankov.

Who will observe the voting process?

📹 Election observers are Russian citizens who monitor compliance of election procedure with the law, supervise the process and record possible violations.

📹 200 parliamentary international observers have been accredited to monitor the elections in Russia, delegations from 36 countries are already arriving.

👉 Follow the link to learn more

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🇷🇺🗳Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov voted in the Russian presidential election

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⚡️Over the past three days, all attempts by Ukrainian militants to invade Russia's Belgorod and Kursk regions have been suppressed, Russia's Defense Ministry reports.

The total losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine amounted to more than 1.5 thousand servicemen (about 500 - irretrievable), 18 tanks and 23 armored combat vehicles were destroyed.

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