International Monitoring of the Russian Presidential Election: 706 observers from 106 countries have been accredited.

"I would like to express my great respect for the courage of the people who, despite pressure and threats, came to our country to get objective information about the elections. They are ready to observe in any region, including the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions," said Ella Pamfilova, chairwoman of the Central Election Commission.

According to preliminary data, international observers will visit at least 52 regions.

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'Irresponsible': French MP accuses Macron of dragging his country into war with Russia

French President Emmanuel Macron has reaffirmed his willingness to put his country at risk of war with Russia, tweeted Arnaud Le Gall, a member of the left-wing La France Insoumise (Unbowed France) party.

Le Gall blamed Macron for what the lawmaker described as the French president's "irresponsible" behavior.

This comes after the French president again refused to rule out sending Western troops to Ukraine, but said they weren't needed at the moment.

"We're not in that situation today," but "all these options are possible," Macron said in an interview with French national television when asked about the prospect of the aforementioned troop deployment.

The French leader raised the same prospect last month, in comments that caused an uproar among other European leaders, who insisted they had no plans to deploy their countries' forces.

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🗣 Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on the reasons for the attacks on Russian regions: These are attempts to cast a shadow on the presidential elections and destabilize the situation.

Peskov also commented on the reports of a secret CIA operation against the Chinese authorities: We experienced such activities ourselves.

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The UK is in a state of undeclared war with Russia, but the British themselves do not even realize it, said Richard Dearlove, former head of Britain's MI6 foreign intelligence service."

"If you stopped anyone in the street here in the UK and asked them whether they thought Britain is at war, they’d look at you as if you were mad," Dearlove told Politico.

"But we are at war — we’re engaged in a gray war with Russia, and I am trying to remind people of that," he said.

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🇷🇺🗳 Russian cosmonauts from the International Space Station voted in the elections through a trustee, mayor of the Russian city of Korolyov, known as the "space capital" of Russia.

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Who has already cast their ballots in the 2024 Russian presidential elections?

About 1.6 million voters have already used the E-voting remote electronic voting system to make their choice in the 2024 Russian presidential elections, due to take place for three days till March 17.

The heads of many Russian regions, leaders of political parties, and an array of senior officials, have already cast their ballots, including:

• Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov;
• Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu;
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov;
• Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov;
• State Duma (Russia’s Lower House) Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin.

This year, turnout is expected to be at 71%, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) predicts.

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Who's running in Russia's 2024 presidential race?

There are four candidates vying for the top office:

▪️Vladimir Putin, self-nominated candidate and incumbent president, 71, has participated in four presidential elections. He specializes in law, in terms of academic degrees, Putin holds a doctorate in economics. The current head of state has not published an election program. Putin outlined his vision of the country's development for the next six years in a message to the Federal Assembly on February 29, 2024.

▪️Nikolai Kharitonov, Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) nominee, 75, was already nominated for the post of President of Russia in 2004. He specializes in agrarian studies, also holds doctorates in economics and sociology. The candidate proposes returning strategic sectors of the economy to state control, prohibit the privatization of state and municipal enterprises, and nationalize foreign assets.

▪️Leonid Slutsky, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) nominee, 56, is running for president for the first time. He specializes in management. In his election program, Slutsky proposes completing his campaign by organizing a large-scale offensive by the Russian Army, as well as confiscating the property of the emigrants in favor of the state.

▪️Vladislav Davankov, New People Party nominee, 40, is the youngest presidential contender, specializes in history. In the field of foreign policy, Davankov suggests proceeding from the principle of "maximum pragmatism", achieving peace and negotiating with Ukraine on Russian terms.

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🇷🇺🗳Turnout in the Russian presidential elections in the whole country now sits at 10.40% at 14.37 Moscow time, according to data from the Central Election Commission

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🇷🇺🗳 Turnout in the Russian presidential election in the whole country is almost 18%.

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📹 An observer from France, Christian Roll, explained his impressions at one of the poll stations

"My feeling is that there is more democracy here than France, for example. And I feel like when I see people around in the centers, I feel like they are happy, like it's a new kind of freedom," he said.

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🇷🇺 Turnout in some regions of the Far East of Russia following the first day of voting:

🔹Chukotka Autonomous Okrug - 63.66%
🔹Jewish Autonomous Region - 55.63%
🔹Sakhalin Region - 47%.
🔹Kamchatka Territory - 35.92%
🔹Amur Region - 31.9%
🔹Khabarovsk Region - 30.03%

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📹WATCH: Villagers in the Siberian region of Buryatia arrived to vote in the Russian presidential election on horseback and dressed in traditional garb.

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❗️A serious DDoS attack has been recorded against the video surveillance system at polling stations in Russia, the chair of the Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova reported, noting that “we have secured ourselves”.

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📹 An observer from Kenya in the Kherson region praised the Russian electronic voting system

“In Russia you can vote from home. In other countries, especially in African countries, with electronic voting you have to go to the polling station to register,” said Ezekiel Kanagi Mutes.

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