Sawt Falasteen - Vote to cement Putin's rule amid Ukraine attacks, Navalny protests

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.

The Kremlin has cast the election as an opportunity for Russians to show they are behind the assault on Ukraine, where voting is also being staged in Russian-held areas.

Ukraine has repeatedly denounced the vote as illegitimate and asked its Western allies not to recognise Putin's inevitable new six-year mandate.

Supporters of the late Alexei Navalny, Putin's most prominent rival who died in an Arctic prison last month, urged voters to crowd into polling stations at noon and spoil their ballots for a "Midday Against Putin" protest.

At least some voters appeared to heed that call at Moscow polling stations, telling AFP they had come to honour Navalny's memory and show their opposition in the only legal way possible.

But other voters expressed their support for Putin, saying that casting their ballots for him was the only way to guarantee peace.

"What we want today, first of all, is peace," said 70-year-old pensioner Lyubov Pyankova.

She was standing in front of a polling station in Putin's native city of St Petersburg decorated with the red, white and blue 'V' logo -- a symbol associated with the military offensive -- that Moscow has also used to promote the vote.

Russia simply wanted "not to be disturbed, not to be told what to do", Pyankova said.

- Tributes to Navalny -

At Navalny's grave in a Moscow cemetery, AFP reporters saw spoiled ballot papers with his name written on them left on a pile of flowers.

Navalny, who galvanised mass protests, tried to run against Putin in the 2018 presidential election but his candidacy was rejected.

"I came to give my farewell to him. He is a hero to me," said Natalya, a 65-year-old pensioner, who came to spoil her ballot together with her friend Elena, a 38-year-old engineer.

"This is our only opportunity to express our opinion," Elena said, speaking at the Moscow polling station where Navalny used to vote.

There were repeated acts of protest in the first days of polling, with a spate of arrests of Russians accused of pouring dye into ballot boxes or arson attacks.

Any public dissent in Russia has been harshly punished since the start of Moscow's offensive in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 and there have been repeated warnings from the authorities against election protests.

Meanwhile a surge in Ukrainian strikes on Russia continued unabated with the Russian defence ministry reporting at least eight regions attacked overnight and on Sunday morning.

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.

In Russia's border city of Belgorod, Ukrainian shelling killed a 16-year-old girl and wounded her father, the region's governor said Sunday.

The governor has ordered the closure of shopping centres and schools in Belgorod and the surrounding area for two days because of the strikes.

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.

- 'Difficult period' -

The 71-year-old Putin, a former KGB agent, has been in power since the last day of 1999 and is set to extend his grip over the country until at least 2030.

If he completes another Kremlin term, he will have stayed in power longer than any Russian leader since Catherine the Great in the 18th century.

He is running without any real opponents, having barred two candidates who opposed the conflict in Ukraine.

In a pre-election address on Thursday, Putin said Russia was going through a "difficult period".

"We need to continue to be united and self-confident," he said, describing the election as a way for Russians to demonstrate their "patriotic feelings".

The voting will wrap up in Kaliningrad, Russia's westernmost time zone, at 1800 GMT and an exit poll is expected to be announced shortly afterwards.

A concert on Red Square is being staged on Monday to mark 10 years since Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula -- an event that is also expected to serve as a victory celebration for Putin.

Moscow has also sought to press its advantage on the front line as divisions over Western military support for Ukraine have led to ammunition shortages, although Kyiv says it has managed to stop the Russian advance for now.

Y.Shaath--SF-PST