TRANSCRIPT
Two people were killed and three wounded in a Ukrainian missile strike on the Russian border city of Belgorod, as Russian citizens vote in a three-day presidential election.
Governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, says schools and shopping centres would be closed for safety reasons.
"We will poll all parents who bring their children to the duty groups in kindergartens. We will ask, if possible, for the children to stay at home on Monday and Tuesday. If this is not possible, we will be helping parents who are essential workers. It is clear that the childcare assistants, nannies, and technical staff are all concerned. The situation is quite complex both in the city and in the Belgorod region. Of course, safety is the primary concern for all of us."
Earlier on Saturday, two people were killed and three wounded in a Ukrainian missile strike on the Russian border city of Belgorod, as Russian citizens continue to vote.
Members of Russia’s Cossack community cast their votes for the country’s next president, as voting entered the second of three days.
The Russian defence ministry earlier in the week released a video it says shows military personnel casting their ballots during early voting for the country’s next president.
One of the Russia’s presidential candidates Leonid Slutsky voted at a polling station in Moscow.
“Today is the main moment of truth in our modern post-Soviet history. The fate of Russia, the Russian world, Russian civilization depends on how things will go on today, including events during the saintly and noble special military operation - we hope will end this year. We will do everything possible and impossible to achieve this.”
Russia repelled several attempts to penetrate its territory from Ukraine, the defense ministry said on Saturday, the latest in a series of raids it has reported in recent days.
In his nightly video address on Saturday [[March 16]], Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine can now exploit Russian military ability with their weapons.
“In recent weeks, many have already seen that the Russian war machine has vulnerabilities and that we can exploit these vulnerabilities with our weapons. I thank the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Main Intelligence Directorate for the new Ukrainian long-range capabilities. Of course, thanks to our defence industry complex - everyone working for the Ukrainian strength, because what our own drones can do is truly a long range Ukrainian capability. Ukraine will now always have its own striking force in the sky.”
Earlier on Saturday a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at a Russian oil refinery that burned for hours before it was brought under control in the latest of several damaging strikes this week on Russia's crude oil processing plants.
One day prior, a Russian ballistic missile attack struck a residential area in Ukraine's Black Sea port city of Odesa, killing 21 people and wounding more than 70.
Ukrainian officials say it was Moscow's deadliest attack in weeks.
