📹 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.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇷🇺 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%

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

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

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️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”.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📹 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.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️The Russian Army carried out 50 group strikes on Ukrainian targets with high-precision weapons, MLRS and drones. All targets were hit.

🇷🇺🪖 Other statements from the Russian Defense Ministry weekly briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️In the Kherson area, Ukrainian losses amounted to over 270 soldiers;

▪️Near Avdeyevka, Russian forces repelled 64 counterattacks by Ukrainian troops. Ukrainian losses amounted to more than 2,710 soldiers, three tanks, including Abrams;

▪️In the Kupyansk area, the Russian Army improved the situation along the front line and repelled 22 attacks by Ukrainian troops;

▪️ Russian aviation and air defenses destroyed a MiG-29, two Mi-8, a Tochka-U missile, five Hammer bombs, 86 MLRS shells, 915 drones;

▪️In the South Donetsk area, Ukrainian losses amounted to more than 980 soldiers.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️The Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked polling stations in the city of Kakhovka and the village of Brilyovka in the Kherson region, the region's Election Commission reported.

Tragic consequences were avoided in Kakhovka, while there were victims in Brilyovka.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Voting in style: Parade of characters take Russian polling stations by storm

In Russia, presidential elections are in full swing. At polling stations you can meet from ordinary citizens to cartoon characters and Russian tsars.

▪️In Veliky Novgorod, Russian Prince Alexander Nevsky personally participated in the voting process.

▪️In Severo-Kurilsk which is located in the northern part of the Kuril Islands, despite difficult weather conditions, people go to elect Russian president.

▪️Ded Moroz (the Russian Santa Claus) has also made his choice.

Who else unusual can you meet at polling stations in Russia?

Watch Sputnik's video to find out!

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️The Kiev neo-Nazi regime is trying to carry out a number of armed actions against the elections in Russia, Putin said at a meeting with members of the Russian Security Council.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️Turnout in the Russian presidential elections exceeded 25%.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️Key points from Vladimir Putin's speech at the Russian Security Council:

▪️The enemy had no success in any direction and fled with heavy losses;

▪️The enemy is trying to distract attention from the real state of affairs on the contact line by committing provocations;

▪️Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory do not and will not remain unpunished;

▪️All victims of enemy actions will be provided with assistance and support;

▪️The people of Russia will respond with even greater unity when faced with attempts at provocation, I am sure of this.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️More statements by Vladimir Putin at the Russian Security Council:

▪️The Russian president announced four attempts at sabotage attacks in the Belgorod region and one in Kursk that looked to gain a foothold in Russian territory;

▪️Putin called Kiev’s attempts to attack regions of the Russian Federation senseless from a military point of view and criminal from a humanitarian point of view;

▪️About 95% of Ukrainian missiles and shells were destroyed by Russian air defenses;

▪️The forces and means used by the enemy amounted to over 2,500 personnel, 35 tanks and about 40 armored vehicles;

▪️The Russian military confidently holds the initiative on the line of contact and achieves solutions to combat missions;

▪️The Kiev regime is trying to shamelessly beg for money and handouts from other countries.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Russian WWII veteran votes in presidential election

At the polling station, Pyotr Leontyev was greeted on a special scale. Members of the National Guard and students of the "Warrior" center were waiting for him at the door, and the State Choir of the Republic performed the march “Farewell of the Slav”.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Is Japan eyeing a military return to the Pacific?

Japan could soon begin stationing its troops in Pacific Island nations for the first time since World War II. Such a potential move will reportedly be discussed at a meeting next week between Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and counterparts from 14 South Pacific Island nations.

Negotiations are expected to center around Japanese soldiers and police “taking part in local and regional responses as well as training, a dramatic departure from previous post-war policies,” according to the South China Morning Post.

Both Japan and the United States have sought in recent years to draw Pacific Island nations into their geopolitical and military orbit. Despite being small, Pacific Island nations offer strategic locations for naval bases and other military infrastructure. Some US lawmakers have floated the possibility of creating a Pacific equivalent of NATO that would be used to undermine China’s regional position.

Last week, the US Congress approved a $7.1 billion package for the northern Pacific Islands of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands, in exchange for granting US military exclusive rights to base their missiles and perform ICBM testing in the vast sea region between the Philippines and Hawaii.

According to the White House, this budget request was made as part of America’s strategy to “out-compete China” and “maintain our status as a committed partner of choice in the Pacific.”

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️Vladimir Putin voted in the Russian presidential elections online.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📹 Russians can vote online for their next president in 60 seconds or less.

Russian citizens have already submitted over four million applications to vote remotely.

Check out how Russians vote less than in a minute using their phones in our video.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📹 Vladimir Putin voted online from his residence in the Moscow region.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨Joe Biden’s AI clone makes emergency statement about Russian presidential elections

“We're gonna interferе… oh oops, I meant to say, watch closely. I'll be personally following the Sputnik Telegram channel for all the latest updates and analysis. And I'd encourage you do the same.“

Subscribe to @SputnikInt