Kursk Residents Cast Ballots in Parliamentary Election Under Drone Threat

Residents of Russia's Kursk region, which shares a border with Ukraine, are casting ballots in the country's parliamentary election under heightened security measures prompted by frequent drone attacks.

With safety a primary concern, many voters are choosing to vote at home, while others are using online balloting. Some have still turned up at local polling stations despite the threat.

Election officials have been trained in what to do if an air-raid alert sounds. Members of precinct commissions said they would take shelter in the basements of nearby buildings in such an event.

"All election commission members have been briefed on the procedures," said Galina Kozina, chairperson of a precinct election commission, when asked how they would respond to an air-raid or missile warning while outdoors.

Commission staff have been going door to door to collect votes. "Hello! Precinct election commission here for voting," one team announced as it entered an apartment, according to footage from the region.

Voters in Kursk are taking part not only in the State Duma election but also in elections to the regional assembly. Those regional polls had been due two years ago but were postponed after Ukraine's incursion into the region.

Nikolai Baranov, chairperson of the territorial election commission, said the earlier vote had been halted by those events and had now been allowed to resume. "We are voting for deputies to the Lgov City Council," he said.

Under the electoral system, voters fill half of the Duma's 450 seats by choosing political parties listed on the ballot, while the remaining seats are contested in single-seat constituencies where voters pick individual candidates. In Kursk, voters cast two separate ballots.

Some residents said they were taking part out of a sense of duty. "I am someone who takes an active stance in life. I always vote, it is my duty. It's good that voting takes place over several days," said local resident Oxana Testoyedova.

Another resident, Svetlana Morgunova, said she wanted a better future for children in areas such as healthcare and education. An election commission member said voters were turning out actively and described them as engaged and responsible.

United Russia, the main Kremlin party, is expected to retain its dominance in the State Duma alongside a few other parties.