By EMMA BURROWS (Associated Press)
Ukraine reportedly fired around eight missiles at Russia’s Belgorod border area, resulting in two deaths and 12 injuries, as Kyiv’s forces seemed to continue efforts to unsettle the Kremlin before Russia’s presidential election. This election is happening amid a harsh crackdown on opposition.
Additionally, Ukrainian forces tried to carry out raids across the border in Belgorod and the Kursk region, according to local authorities. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that its troops killed 195 Ukrainian soldiers and destroyed five tanks and four armored infantry vehicles, two days after claiming to have killed 234 Ukrainian troops in another border attack.
It is not possible to verify the accuracy of the Russian claims independently. Attacks across the border in this area have occurred irregularly since the war began and have been the subject of conflicting reports, as well as misinformation and propaganda.
The recent Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory, such as long-range drone strikes and alleged incursions by Russia-backed groups in Ukraine, have coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s highly likely re-election.
Putin has been working to convince Russians to keep him in power amidst what he describes as foreign threats to the country and as the war in Ukraine enters its third year.
In a video released on Thursday, Putin urged Russians to go to the polls, describing participating in the election as a “showing of patriotic sentiment.”
Asserting that “the only source of power in our country is the people,” Putin told Russians, “you must not only cast your vote, but also firmly express your will and aspirations, your personal involvement in the further development of Russia.”
“Elections are a step into the future,” Putin said.
Since assuming power almost 25 years ago, Putin has effectively removed nearly all independent media and opposition voices in Russia, particularly after the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine that initially went badly wrong.
Analysts believe the Kremlin is concerned about low voter turnout during the three days of voting and needs Russians to participate in order to legitimize Putin’s almost certain victory for another six-year term.
Sam Greene, from the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington, referred to Russia’s election as “a fraud.”
“The Kremlin controls who appears on the ballot. The Kremlin controls their campaigning,” Greene told The Associated Press. “Not to mention being able to control every aspect of the voting and vote counting process.”
The exiled opposition in Russia is urging people to protest against the election by gathering at polling stations at noon on Sunday to show their lack of support for Putin. This event has been named “Noon against Putin” and has been endorsed by Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader who died in a remote Arctic penal colony last month.
Despite Russia’s early challenges in the war, such as the failure of its attack on Kyiv and the aid provided to Ukraine by Western countries through the supply of weapons and training of troops, military analysts say the Kremlin's forces now have the upper hand on the battlefield.
That is mostly because Western aid has decreased due to European shortages and is now being delayed in the United States because of political differences.
The Institute for the Study of War, a think tank in Washington, stated that Russian forces “have the theater-wide initiative and will be able to determine the time, location, and scale of offensive operations” on the battlefield for now.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies stated that Russia’s attack is gaining momentum and the next months are “critical to the direction of conflict.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday cautioned that delays in deliveries to Ukraine are costing lives.
“The Ukrainians are not running out of courage, they are running out of ammunition,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels.
While Ukraine struggles with increasingly scarce battlefield resources, Russia has significantly expanded its own weapons production and is obtaining ammunition from Iran and North Korea.
That does not look good for Ukraine once Putin has probably solidified his hold on power, the think tank said in a report Wednesday.
“Over the spring and summer, Russia is likely to mount a series of major attacks designed to inflict Ukrainian casualties, push defenders westward and expand its control of occupied territories,” the International Institute for Strategic Studies said.
For now, it said, “the land war looks bloody and favors Moscow.”
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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
