Putin accuses Ukraine of interfering in Russian parliamentary election

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Ukraine had "long degenerated into a dictatorship," referring to the country not holding a new presidential election since Russia's 2022 invasion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on Friday that Ukraine was deliberately hindering talks aimed at ending the 4 1/2-year-old war and accused Kyiv of interfering in Russia's parliamentary election.

Putin, in comments to Russia's Military-Industrial commission, also reasserted Moscow's main defense aim of relying on its "nuclear triad" of weapons and said Moscow also had to move towards improving its anti-missile defenses.

In comments reported by Russian state news agencies, Putin claimed that Ukraine had "long degenerated into a dictatorship," referring to the country not holding a new presidential election despite the expiry of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's mandate.

"The Ukrainian leadership is in no hurry to hold elections, as you know, but they are also trying to interfere with us," Putin was quoted as saying, without providing evidence.

Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials say no election can be held in their country while a state of emergency, in place since Russia's February 2022 invasion, remains in effect.

Kyiv derides the Russian vote as a "pseudo-election" with the result never in doubt.

Putin claims election results will show widespread support for war against Ukraine

Russians began voting on Friday in a three-day parliamentary election that Putin has said will show that millions of people back his army fighting in Ukraine, even though most anti-war candidates were not allowed to run.

The result is likely to be held up by the Kremlin as evidence of widespread public support for Putin's policies and, in particular, for his prosecution of Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two, now in its fifth year.

Putin said Ukrainian strikes on Russian targets meant Kyiv's offers to hold negotiations to end the war were disingenuous.

He said one recent Ukrainian strike had hit a home in a village in a Russian-occupied part of Zaporizhzhia, killing the head of a local election commission, who had been presented posthumously with a Russian state honor.

Putain claims Ukraine not seeking peace, negotiations

"By committing crimes of this kind, they are doing everything to ensure that there is no peace and no negotiations," Putin was quoted as telling the commission.

In other comments to the commission, Putin said Russia was continuing to rely on the nuclear triad of land-based, sea-based and aircraft-launched weapons, but that it also needed to improve air defense systems.

Ukraine has rapidly developed its drone capabilities and has launched strikes against Russian industrial targets up to 1,800 miles from its border, disrupting fuel supplies and other aspects of Russian daily life.