The final day will test the strength of the country's opposition, which called for all its supporters to vote at the same time at noon, in an action dubbed "Noon Against Putin."
Russia fired two Iskander-M missiles from the occupied Crimea peninsula that damaged civilian infrastructure and gas and electricity supply lines. Odesa has been targeted almost daily this month, as Russia aims to disrupt the export of goods.
The Russian Presidential elections this time will mark the election to use online voting — the option will be available in 27 Russian regions and Crimea, which Moscow illegally seized from Ukraine 10 years ago.
Commenting on Putin's words, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Washington understood that the Russian leader was restating Moscow's nuclear doctrine, but accused Russia of deploying "reckless and irresponsible" nuclear rhetoric throughout the Ukraine conflict.
Hundreds of Nepali citizens are reported fighting for the Russians against Ukraine. A small number of Nepali citizens are serving in the Ukrainian Army, too, but both conflicting nations have not shared the details with the government of Nepal.
Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Moscow is scheduled to hold Presidential elections from March 15-17. In charge of all the levers of state, incumbent Vladimir Putin, 71, is expected to easily win a landslide victory and another six-year term.
Pope Francis has said that Ukraine should have what he called the courage of the "white flag" and negotiate an end to the war with Russia that followed Moscow's full-scale invasion two years ago and that has killed tens of thousands.
Regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict, India has always condemned civilian killings and called for a peaceful resolution to the conflict. In a major statement, PM Modi told President Putin that "this is not the era of war".
The foreign ministry said in a statement it would look out for what it called "subversive actions and the spread of information" related to the election and what the Kremlin calls its special military operation in Ukraine.
Kasparov, the world's youngest chess champion in 1985, has been an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin's government and fled Russia in 2013 fearing persecution. He called his inclusion in Russia's terrorist list an "honour that says more about Putin's fascist regime than about me".
Navalny's sudden death on February 16 at Penal Colony No. 3 in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region, stunned global leaders, and many accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of murdering him. However, the Kremlin has denied any state involvement in Navalny's death.
Borisov, a former deputy defence minister, said that Russia and China had been jointly working on a lunar programme and that Moscow was able to contribute with its expertise on "nuclear space energy".
Navalny was buried at the Borisovskoye cemetery in the presence of his parents Anatoly and Lyudmila, along with his supporters. Thousands chanted anti-Putin slogans as his body was taken out of the hearse and carried inside the church for the funeral service.
Navalny's sudden death at an Arctic penal colony on February 16 shook the world, with many world leaders and his allies accusing Putin of having him murdered. Navalny's wife also accused Putin of murdering her husband and expressed concern over possible arrests at his funeral.
Putin alleged that the Western countries are trying to drag Russia into an arms race and said Moscow is ready for dialogue with the US, but would not be forced into them. His annual address comes two weeks before Russia's upcoming presidential elections in which Putin is expected to win.
Navalny died at an Arctic penal colony, one of Russia's harshest facilities, on February 16 at the age of 47. He was a long-time foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin and was serving a 30-year-old prison sentence on charges of contempt and fraud.
Slovakian PM Robert Fico said some countries are weighing on sending troops to Ukraine and French President Emmanuel Macron said it cannot be 'ruled out'. The Kremlin warned that a direct conflict between NATO and Russia would be inevitable if the alliance sent combat troops.
In the embarrassing gaffe, Trudeau said 'Russia must win this war' before correcting himself and apologising for the goof-up. The Canadian PM had recently visited Ukraine and announced nearly $3 billion in financial support for the war-torn country.
Pevchikh did not name the two US nationals in contention to be swapped along with Navalny. But the United States has said it is trying to return Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and Paul Whelan, a former US Marine.
The body of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been handed over to his mother, a top aide to Navalny said Saturday on his social media account.
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