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.Dmitry Azarov, governor of the Samara region 850 km (530 miles) southeast of Moscow, said the Syzran refinery was on fire but an attack on a second refinery had been thwarted.Russia\u2019s Defence Ministry said it had repelled attempts by Ukrainian forces to cross the border into Belgorod region. Governor Gladkov said that, given \u201cthe current situation\u201d, schools in much of the region would close on Monday and Tuesday, and that shopping centres in Belgorod city would be shut on Sunday and Monday.Ukraine has staged repeated strikes this week on Russian soil, particularly against oil refineries. Russia mounted its deadliest attack in weeks on Friday when its missiles hit a residential area in Ukraine\u2019s Black Sea port city of Odesa, killing at least 20 people and wounding more than 70.Putin\u2019s hold on power is not under threat. Aged 71 and in office as president or prime minister since the last day of 1999, he dominates Russia\u2019s political landscape and none of the other three candidates on the ballot paper presents any credible challenge.His leading critics are in prison or have fled abroad, prompting the opposition to call the vote a sham. Russia\u2019s best known opposition politician, Alexei Navalny, died in an Arctic penal colony last month and his supporters have accused Putin of having him killed. The Kremlin denied that, and his death certificate said he died of natural causes.HIGH TURNOUT IN SOME REGIONSThe Kremlin is hoping for a high turnout to demonstrate that the country is united behind Putin.Overall turnout had topped 40% by the afternoon of day two. Some of the highest rates \u2013 approaching 70% \u2013 were reported in the Belgorod region where the missile strike occurred and in Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine where Kyiv says voting is illegal and void.Russia\u2019s governing party, United Russia, said on Saturday that it was facing a widespread denial of service attack \u2013 a form of cyberattack aimed at paralysing web traffic \u2013 and had suspended non-essential services to repel it.State news agency RIA quoted a senior telecoms official as saying the level of cyberattacks against Russia was \u201cunprecedented\u201d, and blaming it on Ukraine and Western countries. He said some of the activity had been traced to IP addresses in Western Europe and North America.Friday\u2019s voting saw a handful of protests including the pouring of dyed liquid into ballot boxes and the throwing of a Molotov cocktail at a polling station in Putin\u2019s home town, as well as reported cyber attacks.The head of the electoral commission, Ella Pamfilova, said on Friday that people who tried to disrupt the voting were \u201cscumbags\u201d and that they could face up to five years in prison.(Reuters)missile attack. Ukrainian missile attack, oil refinery ablaze, election disruption<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
– A Ukrainian missile attack killed two people in western Russia.
\n– A separate drone strike set an oil refinery ablaze in Russia.
\n– The incidents occurred during the second day of a presidential election in Russia.
\n– President Vladimir Putin accused Kyiv of trying to disrupt the election.
\n– The governor of the Belgorod region reported the deaths of a man and a woman due to the missile attack.
\n– The Syzran refinery in the Samara region was reported to be on fire due to a drone strike.
\n– Russia’s Defence Ministry reported repelling attempts by Ukrainian forces to cross into the Belgorod region.
\n– Schools in much of the Belgorod region and shopping centers in Belgorod city were closed due to the situation.
\n– Russia conducted a missile attack on Odesa, Ukraine, killing at least 20 people and wounding more than 70.
\n– President Putin is expected to win the presidential election, extending his time in office.
\n– Alexei Navalny, a prominent opposition politician, died in an Arctic penal colony, with his death certificate stating natural causes as the cause of death.
\n– The election turnout was over 40% by the afternoon of the second day, with high turnout in the Belgorod region and Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine.
\n– United Russia reported a denial of service cyberattack on its services.
\n– A senior telecoms official attributed the cyberattacks against Russia to Ukraine and Western countries.
\n– Protests and reported cyber attacks occurred during the voting process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4446,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[383,1234,2028,3,1600,2235,201,118,487,296,1394,466,1053,887,2234,1220,1004,1356,1792,131,577,154,1655,19,133,1806,729,1846,459,17,1180,2233,1357,1774,293,1944,18],"class_list":["post-4445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cyprus","tag-attack","tag-attacks","tag-belgorod-region","tag-cyprus","tag-election","tag-election-disruption","tag-europe","tag-fire","tag-incidents","tag-kyiv","tag-man","tag-missile","tag-missile-attack","tag-navalny","tag-oil-refinery-ablaze","tag-port","tag-power","tag-presidential-election","tag-prime-minister","tag-prison","tag-protests","tag-putin","tag-residential-area","tag-russia","tag-schools","tag-services","tag-strike","tag-threat","tag-traffic","tag-ukraine","tag-ukrainian","tag-ukrainian-missile-attack","tag-vladimir-putin","tag-vote","tag-war","tag-woman","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n