Russia has been hit by a cyberattack amid the country’s sham election as Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of seeking to sabotage the polls, the Kremlin claimed.
United Russia said it was facing a widespread denial of service attack – a form of cyberattack that snarls internet use – against its online presence, and it had suspended non-essential services to repel the interruption.
It comes as up to 21 people were killed in a Russian ballistic missile attack on Odesa, Ukraine, on Friday, according to Ukrainian officials.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia would receive a “fair response” from Ukrainian forces for what he said was a “vile” assault.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones struck two Russian oil refineries belonging to state-owned oil giant Rosneft in the Samara region.
The Syzran refinery was on fire but an attack on the Novokubyshev refinery was thwarted, the governor of Russia’s Samara region, Dmitry Azarov said. Workers at both plants were evacuated with no casualties reported, he added.
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Up to 21 killed in Odesa, Kyiv claims
Up to 21 people were killed in a Russian ballistic missile attack on Odesa, Ukraine, on Friday, according to Ukrainian officials.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia would receive a “fair response” from Ukrainian forces for what he said was a “vile” assault.
Two Iskander-M missiles fired from the Russian-occupied Crimea peninsula damaged civilian infrastructure and gas and electricity supply lines in the southern city, regional governor Oleh Kiper said on national television.
A medic and a rescuer were killed by a second missile after rushing to the scene to treat people hurt in the initial strike. Ten people had suffered serious injuries, Kiper said.
Local officials and national police said police were among the dead, including at least two senior officers. A former deputy mayor of the city was also killed.
Alexander Butler16 March 2024 14:08
West shouldn’t rule out sending troops to Ukraine, Finnish FM says
Finnish foreign minister Elina Valtonen suggested that Western nations, including the United States, should remain open to the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine should conditions deteriorate further.
“It’s important that we not rule everything out for the long term, because we never know how serious the situation becomes,” Valtonen said in an interview with NatSec.
“But the Finnish position is clear: We are not right now sending any troops and not willing to discuss that,” she added.
Alexander Butler16 March 2024 13:45
Ukraine attacks Russian city and refinery on second day of presidential election
A Ukrainian missile attack killed two people in western Russia and a separate drone strike set an oil refinery ablaze on Saturday, the second day of an election that President Vladimir Putin has accused Kyiv of trying to disrupt.
The Ukraine war has cast a shadow over voting in the three-day presidential election, which is all but certain to hand Putin six more years in the Kremlin.
In the Belgorod region where cross-border attacks from Ukraine have become part of daily life, the governor reported the deaths of a man and a woman. Video obtained by Reuters showed fires ablaze and air raid sirens sounding on the empty streets of Belgorod city.
Alexander Butler16 March 2024 12:49
Putin shown ‘voting’ in sham Russian election in new video released by Kremlin
Putin shown ‘voting’ in sham Russian election in new video released by Kremlin
Vladimir Putin is shown appearing to vote online in the Russian election, in a new video released by the Kremlin. The video, released on Friday (15 March), shows Putin voting on the first of three presidential election days in Russia. Russian authorities have been promoting online voting since the beginning of the pandemic, but critics have panned it as an attempt to obscure real voting data. The sham election is widely expected to confirm Putin’s fifth term of presidency, set to last for at least another six years. The footage has not been verifed by The Independent.
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Candidates vetted by Kremlin, expert says
All candidates on the ballot for Russia’s sham election are vetted by the Kremlin and don’t expect to win against Vladimir Putin, an expert said.
Professor Samuel Greene, of King’s College London, said candidates are only allowed to campaign within red lines set by Putin – meaning any real opposition is nonexistent.
He told The Independent: “All parties that are able to function in Russia are coordinated by the presidential administration. Candidate lists are vetted by the Kremlin; fundraising is both limited and enabled by the Kremlin.
“The opposition candidates are being careful not to be any more aggressive than Putin is in his campaigning. They don’t really expect to win.”
Alexander Butler16 March 2024 08:09
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Alexander Butler16 March 2024 08:00