Officials preparing for elections in Russia’s Kursk region bordering Ukraine are to be issued body armour and helmets, the head of the regional electoral commission, Tatyana Malakhova said, according to Russian news agencies.
Additional polling booths will also be set up for people displaced from parts of the region where Ukrainian forces have conducted a major incursion since the start of the month.
A state of emergency has already been declared.
According to Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, more than 1,260 square kilometres and 93 settlements have been occupied.
Russian authorities say that more than 120,000 residents have been displaced by the fighting, and hundreds of emergency shelters have been set up for them.
The Kremlin has declared the region a zone for counterterrorism operations.
Elections have been called in many Russian regions between Sept. 6 and 8 to elect governors and regional parliaments.
The central electoral authority in Moscow has decided to hold the elections early in the border regions of Kursk, Belgorod und Bryansk.
In Kursk, Alexei Smirnov, the acting governor, is running in elections scheduled to start on Aug. 28. (dpa/NAN)
