In western Russia, a missile from Ukraine caused the deaths of two people, and a drone set a refinery on fire during Russia’s election. President Vladimir Putin blamed Ukraine for trying to mess up the election.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, who leads the Belgorod region, confirmed the deaths, showing that attacks across the border are getting worse.
Dmitry Azarov, who leads the Samara region near Ukraine, said a refinery in Syzran caught fire, showing that things are getting more dangerous in the area. Another refinery almost got attacked, adding to the tension after recent attacks by Ukraine on Russian refineries.
This has made the ongoing presidential election seem grim. Putin, who is 71 years old, is expected to stay in charge of Russia, with no other candidates seen as a real challenge.
Ukrainian missile strike claims lives in Russian border region (Via Ray Conway/Shutterstock)
Some people criticize this, saying there isn’t any real opposition because the people who disagree with Putin are put in jail or forced to leave the country.
The death of Alexei Navalny, a big critic of Putin, while he was in jail has caused a lot of arguments. Some people say Putin’s government was involved, but they deny it. Navalny’s supporters say the election isn’t fair because of all the problems happening.
Even with all this trouble, Russian leaders want a lot of people to vote to show that the country supports Putin. Early reports show that some places have a lot of people voting, but there are also problems with cyberattacks on voting systems and some protests.
People are worried about the election being fair because of the violence and claims that other countries are trying to interfere. With all these problems, it’s hard to focus on the election and the chance for democracy in Russia.
