Effects of a Ukrainian attack on the Russian Belgorod region (Reuters)

A Russian-appointed official accused Ukrainian forces of attacking a voting center in the part under Moscow's control in the Zaporozhye region, while Russia confirmed that 35 Ukrainian drones were shot down coinciding with the last day of the country's presidential elections.

Vladimir Rogov, a local official appointed by Russia, said that two Ukrainian drones attacked a voting center in the Russian-controlled part of the Zaporozhye region on Sunday.

Rogoff wrote on the Telegram application that the attack caused the building to catch fire, but did not result in injuries.

On the other hand, the Southern Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that Russia launched 14 drones into Odessa during the night, damaging agricultural companies and destroying buildings, without recording any casualties.

The command added that 13 drones were destroyed over the Odessa region and one when flying near the Mykolaiv region.

Part of the voting in the presidential elections at a polling office in the Donetsk region under Russian control (Reuters)

Intense attacks

On the other hand, the Russian government aviation control authority said that restrictions imposed on flights at Moscow airports had been lifted earlier today after air defenses shot down 5 Ukrainian drones near the Russian capital.

The Russian authorities announced that traffic on the bridge linking the Crimean Peninsula to Russian territory had returned again after being suspended for less than half an hour, without revealing the reason for the suspension.

The authorities often suspend traffic on the bridge for security reasons.

On the other hand, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that its air defenses shot down 35 Ukrainian drones overnight, while the presidential elections entered their final day.

The ministry said that air defenses “detected and destroyed” 35 drones in 8 different regions, including 4 over Moscow.

Russia accused Ukrainian forces of carrying out drone attacks that briefly caused a fire in an oil refinery and caused a power outage in border areas.

The operations headquarters in the Krasnodar region in southern Russia said via Telegram on Sunday, “The drones were neutralized, but a fire broke out as a result of the fall of one of the planes” at the Slavyansk refinery, while the mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, confirmed that Russian air defense systems destroyed 4 drones that were flying towards the capital. .

In the Belgorod border region, an attack by four drones launched by Ukraine damaged electricity and gas lines in a village, according to the governor of the region, Vyacheslav Gladkov.

The war between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for more than two years without a clear horizon for its end (French)

Targeting “vulnerabilities”

The Ukrainian attacks coincided with the last day of the presidential elections in Russia, and Moscow accuses Kiev of working to spoil the elections through its strikes on Russian infrastructure over a period of days, in one of the largest air operations on Russian territory since President Vladimir Putin ordered a war on Ukraine two years ago.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked his military forces and intelligence for the "new long-range capabilities" in his video speech yesterday, Saturday, without referring to the intensified attacks launched by his country's forces.

Zelensky said that the extended range of Ukrainian combat drones represents an important military boost for his country, adding, "In these weeks, many have already seen that the Russian military system has weak points, and that we can reach these weak points with our weapons."

"From now on, Ukraine will always have its own striking force in the sky," he added.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies