The OVD-Info group that monitors political arrests said that more than 75 people were arrested in 17 cities across Russia on Sunday.
Putin is poised to extend his nearly quarter century of rule for six more years after a relentless crackdown on dissent.
The election was taking place amid attacks within Russia by Ukrainian missiles and drones, which have killed several people. Polls opened Friday in a tightly controlled environment where there are no real alternatives to Putin, little public criticism of him or his war in Ukraine.
Putin’s fiercest political foe, Alexei Navalny, died in an Arctic prison last month, and other critics are either in jail or in exile. There are no significant independent observers monitoring the election.
Navalny’s associates urged those unhappy with Putin or the war to protest by coming to the polls at noon on Sunday, a strategy endorsed by Navalny shortly before his death. Navalny’s team described it as a success, pointing to pictures and videos of people crowding near polling stations in cities across Russia around noon.
The 71-year-old Russian leader only faces three token rivals from Kremlin-friendly parties who have refrained from any criticism of his 24-year rule or his full-scale invasion of Ukraine that was launched on Feb. 24, 2022.
Putin has boasted of Russian battlefield successes in the period leading up to the vote, but a major Ukrainian drone attack across Russia on Sunday once again was a reminder of challenges faced by the Kremlin.
Russia Reports Multiple Attacks from Ukraine During Presidential Electionhttps://t.co/LGcarWHJUt
Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 16, 2024
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that it took down more than 40 Ukrainian drones overnight and on Sunday, including four near the Russian capital.
The local governor of Russia’s Belgorod region said that Ukrainian shelling on Sunday killed a man and a 16-year-old girl, and wounded at least 12 other people. The governor also said two people died during attacks the previous day.
Putin previously described the attacks as an attempt by Ukraine to frighten residents and derail Russia’s presidential election, saying they “won’t be left unpunished.”
Voting is taking place at polling stations across the vast country’s 11 time zones, in illegally annexed regions of Ukraine, and online.
Stanislav Andreychuk, co-chair of the Golos independent election watchdog, said that pressure on voters from law enforcement had reached unprecedented levels.
