Putin, who has ruled for nearly a quarter-century, faces no significant opposition after suppressing political dissent.

Independent media and rights groups have been stifled, with Putin's most prominent critic, Alexei Navalny, dying in prison in February.

Putin's three rivals in the election are from Kremlin-friendly parties and have not criticized him or his invasion of Ukraine.

Putin views the war in Ukraine as an existential battle against Western powers.

Voting in Russia was described as orderly, but at least a dozen cases of vandalism were reported over the weekend.

These incidents included a firebombing and people pouring green liquid into ballot boxes, which is believed to be a reference to opposition leader Alexei Navalny who was attacked with disinfectant in 2017.

A university professor was arrested for attempting to throw green liquid into a ballot box and received a 15-day sentence for "petty hooliganism." Another pensioner was detained for trying to damage ballots in the Altai region.

Further charges may be brought against both individuals.

In Podolsk, a woman was detained and fined for writing a message on her ballot, which was considered discrediting the Russian army under current laws.

Russian lawmakers are proposing a new law to punish election saboteurs with up to eight years in prison.

A video emerged showing staff at a polling station in Krasnodar allegedly stuffing multiple ballots into ballot boxes.

Additionally, Ukrainian drone and missile attacks hit deep inside Russia, and an armed group attempted to cross the border from Ukraine.

Two people were killed in Ukrainian shelling of the Russian city of Belgorod, prompting the governor to order closures of shopping centers and schools due to the security situation.

Explosions at polling stations in Belgorod were denied by local officials.

Elsewhere, a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at a Russian oil refinery in the Samara region, killing one person and wounding four.

In the illegally annexed Kherson region of Ukraine, one person was killed and four others were wounded in Kakhovka due to a Ukrainian drone attack, according to the Russia-installed governor.

Dozens of people have been killed in Belgorod since the war began.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin boasted about military successes in Ukraine and accused Ukrainian forces of cross-border attacks and shelling in the lead-up to the annexed region's election.

Putin described these attacks as an attempt to frighten Russians and derail the vote, vowing to retaliate.

Analysts believe the Kremlin needs a high turnout in the election to legitimize Putin's rule and signal Russian approval of the war.

The Russian defense ministry has been a major growth engine, producing weapons and shielding Russians from the economic impact of the conflict, resulting in low unemployment and wage increases.

A Ukrainian drone reportedly dropped an explosive on a polling station in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Russia's economy has remained resilient during the war, growing despite Western sanctions.

The opposition is urging people unhappy with Putin or the war to protest by voting on the final day of the election as a form of protest, a strategy endorsed by Navalny before his death.

The voting is taking place across Russia's time zones, in annexed Ukrainian regions, and online.

Western leaders have criticized the election as a sham and lack of democratic process, with limited options for voters and monitoring.

In the given text, it is mentioned that during an election, no international observers were present.

Only candidates approved by the Kremlin or state-backed advisory bodies were allowed to assign observers to polling stations.

This decreases the likelihood of independent watchdogs being present, suggesting potential limitations on transparency and fairness in the election process.