Russian elections begin and Putin is a candidate to continue in power. Residents of the Russian Far East began casting their votes, and the first polling stations opened today.
Voting operations will continue throughout Russia and the Ukrainian regions that Moscow annexed over a period of 3 days. The United States criticized the holding of voting operations in Ukrainian regions, and denounced what it described as "organized sham elections in the occupied Ukrainian territories" The Russian presidential elections are taking place at a time when Ukraine is escalating pressure on Russian border areas.