MOSCOW/BERLIN: Russia said it was targeted by a wave of Ukrainian drones on Sunday, as thousands headed to the polls for a final day of elections set to extend President Vladimir Putin’s rule.

Queues of people were also seen forming outside polling stations in Moscow and Saint Petersburg at noon, when Russia’s opposition called for people to collectively spoil their ballots or vote against Putin.

The three-day vote had already been marred by a surge in fatal Ukrainian bombardment, incursions into Russian territory by pro-Kyiv sabotage groups and vandalism at polling stations.

Ukrainian drones attacked at least eight Russian regions overnight and on Sunday morning, with some reaching as far as the Moscow region, the defence ministry said.

Three airports serving the capital briefly suspended operations following the barrage, while a drone attack in the south sparked a fire at an oil refinery.

Several flock to Navalny’s grave to cast their vote’

In the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, where voting is also taking place, “kamikaze drones” set a polling station ablaze, according to Moscow-installed authorities. The defence ministry said it had “intercepted and destroyed 35 unmanned aerial vehicles” across the country.

Visit to Navalny’s grave

Dozens of Russians flocked to Alexei Navalny’s grave in Moscow to symbolically cast their vote for the late opposition politician on the last day of Russia’s presidential election, TV footage showed.

Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest domestic critic, died last month in an Arctic prison. His allies accuse Putin of having him murdered, something the Kremlin denies. Navalny was buried at the Borisovo cemetery in southern Moscow on March 1, two weeks before the start of a presidential election.

On Sunday, video footage posted on social media by the Novaya Gazeta Europe news outlet and other media, showed dozens of Navalny supporters at his grave on which they had placed various tributes.

“We choose you,” said one tribute. Official voting slips which had been amended to include Navalny’s name on the list of candidates with a tick next to it were also visible. Supporters were shown placing flowers on Navalny’s grave, which was already piled high with flowers.

Protest outside Russian embassies

Russians formed long queues outside Moscow’s embassies in European capitals on Sunday to cast their votes on the final day of elections. Several polling stations attracted anti-Putin rallies organised in memory of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Yulia Navalnaya, his widow, received flowers from supporters and chatted with fellow voters in the long line outside the Russian embassy in Berlin. Navalny supporters had called for people to go to polling stations in a “Midday Against Putin” protest and spoil their ballots.

‘Pointless war’

In Tallinn, Anastasia Korobova, a 44-year old Kazakh-born Russian activist, said: “So many people don’t want war, don’t want their relatives to die in a pointless war or to kill people.”

In Vilnius, where an estimated 500 people were gathered, some held up posters of Navalny saying “Putin killed Navalny”. “We understand that this is a symbolic rally, but we also know that many dictatorships fell after similar events,” Ivan Zhdanov, who manages Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, said.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2024