Google Speech-to-Text API Automatic Transcription (Chirp). Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a quotation record.
00:00:08of
00:00:12of
00:00:21of The Kive regime launched a massive attack against
00:00:25Russia to undermine the country's
00:00:28of elections. That's according to Russia. foreign ministry after Moscow comes
00:00:32under heavy Ukrainian drone attack that left several people
00:00:35dead. Russian citizens go to the polls
00:00:39around the world for the final
00:00:41of day
00:00:41of the country's parliamentary elections. We're bringing you our special
00:00:45coverage as the world's geographically biggest country has its
00:00:48democratic say and
00:00:51that is my vote one of tens of
00:00:55millions being
00:00:56a cast around the donbas but with every vote cast and
00:01:00Dombas,
00:01:01of the people
00:01:02of the Dumbas show that those threats don't
00:01:06scare them. Well, Zelensky insists that elections cannot
00:01:10be held in Ukraine while the country is at war, putting them off
00:01:14of indefinitely. Russian citizens head to the polls and regions either bordering
00:01:18or directly on the front line, despite daily shelling
00:01:22and threats from Kiev. Generally speaking,
00:01:25it is very difficult to intimidate me, it's just not in my nature.
00:01:29Firstly, "I don't recognize the landscate
00:01:31at all and I don't watch him on TV.
00:01:33of As for scammers, they've already left me alone. We have lived too long to be
00:01:37intimidated.
00:01:44a Hello and welcome. You're watching Garti
00:01:48International with the latest headlines. It's good to have you with us. Well,
00:01:52amid parliamentary elections in Russia, the Kiev regime launched a
00:01:56massive attack in an effort to undermine the democratic will of..."
00:02:00people, that's according to the Russian foreign ministry, after Mosco commander
00:02:04heavy Ukrainian
00:02:05a drone attack
00:02:06of overnight, killing several people. Moscow mayor, Sergey Sabianin
00:02:10called the attack unprecedented, saying it was intended to
00:02:14disrupt the vote. The most massive enemy
00:02:18drone attack has been repelled since yesterday. Over 1,600
00:02:21UAVs have been shot down across all sectors, including
00:02:25450 while approaching Moscow. My thanks go to the air
00:02:29defense. personnel for their selfless efforts. Nevertheless, few
00:02:33drones reached the Moscow Oil refinery
00:02:35of and one struck
00:02:36a residential building. There were no fatalities. This
00:02:40unprecedented attack was clearly orchestrated to disrupt
00:02:43of the
00:02:43of elections.
00:02:44of The enemy failed in this attempt. As we heard from the Moscow
00:02:48mayor himself,
00:02:50of Russian authorities have neutralized over 1,600
00:02:53drones since Saturday, and the Mayor
00:02:56of added that 450 UAVs were intercepted on their... way to the
00:03:00Russian capital was several drones hit the Moscow oil refinery
00:03:04as well as other residential buildings. now these attacks were
00:03:07more uh or most destructive in the
00:03:10of
00:03:10of Moscow region where three people were left uh were killed uh
00:03:14and uh several were left injured including number of teenagers and
00:03:17three children. now uh the wounded are
00:03:21of uh in hospitals getting the necessary uh care
00:03:24possible
00:03:25in but 400 other people including 70 children
00:03:29were all also evacuated from other
00:03:32in residential building uh because falling drone debries parked
00:03:35fire there, still in the mosco region a
00:03:40of in warehouse also caught fire because of a drone. now due to these events,
00:03:44flight restrictions have been implemented in all four moscow
00:03:48airports, but uh Ukrainian uh the Ukrainian armed
00:03:52forces have also
00:03:53in attacked the Zaparoji region where a drone a Ukrainian
00:03:56drone drone struck a school there were polling state. was
00:04:00located, fortunately no casualties have been reported there because there
00:04:04of were no people in the
00:04:06of building at the time
00:04:11of of the attack itself. meanwhile, on the other hand, in the Herson region a drone attacked,
00:04:14a busranian drone attacked
00:04:18of of a bus, leaving two people killed, one of which was member
00:04:20of of the electoral commission
00:04:22there. today, september
00:04:2520th, as
00:04:26a result of a targeted drone attack a civilian bus in the K region,
00:04:30two people were killed. One
00:04:32of the victims was our colleague Olga
00:04:34of Petrovko, born in 1966, member
00:04:37of the Precinct Electoral Commission for polling station number 220 in the
00:04:41lower Saragor district
00:04:42of of of the Kson region. was member
00:04:45of the present electoral commission for 2023 and actively
00:04:48participated in the current election campaign for the state dumer
00:04:52of elections, engaging with many of her neighbors, fellow citizens and compatriots while
00:04:56honestly, responsibly and bravely fulfilling her duties. she was involved.
00:05:00in conducting early voting in the lower Saragor district
00:05:02of the Kerson region. Her daughter, Elena Petrovna, is also member
00:05:06of the presenct electoral commission. As I mentioned before, I will repeat it once
00:05:09more. Despicable, cowardly Bandera scum. 'who are afraid to fight like
00:05:13men and truly engage in warfare, target our peaceful people, primarily
00:05:17women and children. I believe that shame will fall upon them, and each one them will be
00:05:21found. Our strong spirited colleagues continue to
00:05:23work. The Russian investigative committee has stated that
00:05:27they've opened criminal cases related to uh these
00:05:31terror acts from Ukraine, including in Briansk,
00:05:35kursk, and the Belgradod regions where two other
00:05:38people were killed because these Ukrainian attacks'. Now
00:05:42the massive rate that struck Moscow and the Moscow
00:05:46region uh for instance, it struck just hours before polling
00:05:50stations were said to open in the capital, but despite
00:05:54these attacks, as we've uh as we understand, the
00:05:571,443 polling stations in Moscow did
00:06:01open on time, overnight the Russian armed
00:06:04forces also have launched Uavs against logistical
00:06:07centers, warehouses and ports in Ukraine as well as
00:06:11vessels that... that are in operations with the Ukrainian
00:06:15armed forces. Now
00:06:17of course the timing of this is very interesting because as we know
00:06:20the uh uh parliamentary elections here in Russia are still taking
00:06:24place. We are on the third day, the final day the elections and one could only
00:06:28think that these attacks not only are
00:06:31blaintant acts of terrorism against civilians themselves,
00:06:35but also a way to try to disrupt the electoral process here in
00:06:39Russia. Well, the... This has been the
00:06:43third and final day of voting in Russia's parliamentary
00:06:47elections. Polls have just closed in the Moscow Time zone.
00:06:51The first preliminary results are expected a bit later tonight. Stay with
00:06:55us for that. RTI has of course been keeping close tap on the
00:06:58developments bringing you all the latest updates and our special
00:07:01coverage.
00:07:13As the third and final day of voting nationwide parliamentary
00:07:16elections draws to close, the scale the process which spans
00:07:20across 11 time zones is immense with voter
00:07:24turnout surpassing 56%. Russian citizens are
00:07:28exercising their constitutional right to define their future for the
00:07:32next five years. In the country's new regions, more than four
00:07:35million residents have cast their ballots early elections with the
00:07:39process still ongoing. In the frontline. publics of
00:07:43Donietsk and Lugansk, people are also heading to the polls to
00:07:46vote, locals from one the most iconic regions of Russia,
00:07:50Crimea are actively showing up to choose their
00:07:53representatives, and citizens the most remote
00:07:56corners the country have also had the opportunity to have their say in this
00:08:00election, as the Russian Aerospace Company Bureau
00:08:041440 has provided residents of a small settlement in the
00:08:07country's far north with access to remote electronic voting,
00:08:11it's become possible with the use of a low-earth orbit
00:08:15satellite network, next generation of satellite
00:08:18communications. the company noted that such cases allow the
00:08:22testing the service in real conditions and in the arctic for
00:08:26future
00:08:27needs.
00:08:32we can get more the latest updates and now from our
00:08:35correspondents, sadrietsova who's joining us from the central
00:08:39electoral commission and Isabella Bloomberg joining us from studio just
00:08:43outside the Kremlin, thank you both for joining us on the program, Bella, let's
00:08:47go to you first, just give us more information about who is in the
00:08:50race. Good
00:08:54evening, Nikki, it's 8 p.m. in Moscow right now, and polling
00:08:58stations have closed in most of Russia's western regions,
00:09:02with the exception of Kiningrad, of course, voters still have one more hour
00:09:05to cast their ballot, but polls were open nationwide today, and the
00:09:09central electoral commission reports that... overall voter
00:09:13turnout has surpassed the 2021
00:09:16elections that turn out there uh and
00:09:19the figure now stands at over 56%
00:09:22that it's also quite important I think to highlight that these are the first
00:09:26parliamentary elections we're seeing since the start the special military
00:09:29operation launched back in February 2022. For the first time
00:09:33in modern Russian history we're seeing citizens from the four regions
00:09:37in the SMO zone cast their ballot as Russian
00:09:41citizens but let me take you through how Russia's state doomer actually
00:09:44works. It's the lower chamber the federal assembly consisting
00:09:48of 450 seats. Now parliamentary elections
00:09:52take place every five years and they're divided equally into two
00:09:56halves. 225 seats are chosen by party lists,
00:10:00which means that voters are able to cast the vote the ballots and pick
00:10:04a specific political party, and the other 225
00:10:08seats are distributed through um single mandate districts, which means...
00:10:12means that voters are able to elect a candidate in their
00:10:15constituency. now for a party to actually get through to the state
00:10:19duma, they have to meet this 5% threshhold,
00:10:23parliamentary elections in Russia. started on the 18th of
00:10:27September and end today on the 20th September on Sunday right
00:10:30now. There are currently 10 parties vying for seats and on the federal
00:10:34ballots. The first one being United Russia, the largest faction
00:10:38in the Duma enjoying a constitutional majority, a party that was
00:10:42founded in 2001. Then we have the communist
00:10:46party the Russian Federation, it's considered the oldest on the
00:10:50federal ballot here. We have a Just Russia pull suggest that they will
00:10:54be able to meet that. 5% threshhold during these elections, we
00:10:57have the liberal democrat democratic party of Russia now being chaired
00:11:01by Leonard Zlotsky from following the death of its former
00:11:05leader uh Vladimir Zirinovski back in
00:11:072022. Now we also have a relatively
00:11:11new party here on the scene, this being a new people, a party
00:11:15founded in 2020, and curiously it managed to
00:11:19win and sort of pass that 5% threshold during those previous
00:11:23elections that we saw back in 2020. 21, then of course we have the
00:11:26non-parliamentary parties vying for seat
00:11:30seats such as the pensionist party, the communists of
00:11:34Russia, rodina, the greens and the party of direct
00:11:38democracy, so with most polling stations now closed,
00:11:41this historic vote is almost in the books, now now we're keeping
00:11:45our eyes peeled as the central electoral commission publishes
00:11:49its preliminary results and let's cross over to the central
00:11:53electoral commission right? now and to our correspondent ala, so ala,
00:11:57take us through the election procedure itself,
00:12:00please. well, I am indeed
00:12:04in the central election commission building at the heart of it all, as
00:12:08State Duma elections wrap up in Russia, they are in their
00:12:12final day. now the voter turnout at this point in time is
00:12:1556.66%. uh, it is past 8
00:12:19p.m. moscow time right now, which means that in the Russian capital, the polling
00:12:23stations have officially closed, Uh, we're currently waiting on the
00:12:26preliminary results, which we will receive in about an hour, that
00:12:30is at 9 p.m. Moscow time, uh, after polling stations close in the
00:12:34city of Caliningrad, which is one hour behind of
00:12:37Moscow, and that is also when we will know - the leading
00:12:41three candidates for each individual constituency, uh, notably of course
00:12:45there are 225 of those individual
00:12:49constituencies here in Russia and 16 constituencies
00:12:52in in Moscow alone. uh now in casting their vote for a
00:12:56specific candidate to represent the area in the state Duma, Russian
00:13:00citizens choose from between seven eight candidates
00:13:04per their area uh and the total number of candidates making those
00:13:08federal listts here uh is around
00:13:111,700 people. now uh some
00:13:15the candidates making those lists are independent candidates and some of those
00:13:18candidates are of course veterans the special
00:13:22military operation. now we've got more than um
00:13:2690,000 polling stations across the country
00:13:30and 11 different time zones indeed - the total number of
00:13:34registered voters here in the Russian capital is over
00:13:377,800,000 and across the country nationwide that
00:13:41is over 100 million and 11 um
00:13:45million voters uh over the past three days people have been
00:13:49able to cast their vote a variety of different ways that
00:13:53is in person of course casting ballot uh also
00:13:57uh of course online as well and those unable to vote in person have been
00:14:00able to vote from home, so uh Russian citizens have been able to vote a
00:14:04variety of different ways over those past three days and it
00:14:08is also worth noting that almost 400,00
00:14:11observers have been present and are present uh as
00:14:15the elections of course still on going a region of
00:14:19Russia um yes so of course um
00:14:23nationwide uh many observers present uh, the process is
00:14:27now moving towards its next and final stage, which is the
00:14:31counting the votes, so we're looking forward to seeing that. indeed we are. Ala, thank
00:14:35you. We're going to come back to Bella now, because Bella, the elections are wrapping up
00:14:39as A just said, but we've had this massive
00:14:42Ukrainian and bombardment on the Russian territory, as well as the EU's
00:14:46unwillingness to recognize the results even before we've had them. What else do
00:14:50we know about
00:14:51this? I'm...
00:14:55Nikki: I think the timing here is just so difficult to ignore because
00:14:58overnight Moscow and the nearby regions came under what officials are
00:15:02calling one the largest Ukrainian drone attacks
00:15:06since the start the war and it's really not this just the skies because the
00:15:10central electoral commission says uh that it's the election
00:15:14has been attacked at this unprecedented level um
00:15:18ranging from cyber attacks on electoral infrastructure to
00:15:21provocations. There's also more because Russia's foreign intelligence.
00:15:25service as warned weeks ago that apparently European leaders were
00:15:29preparing and drafting these statements to refuse the
00:15:32election outcomes, the parliamentary outcomes here in
00:15:36Russia, the same time, the report also pointed to the fact that Brussels was
00:15:40apparently trying to stage provocations, trying to call on
00:15:43Russians to boycott the elections and also try to
00:15:47propagate these claims of illegitimacy the vote, and despite the
00:15:51pressure, or perhaps maybe even because of it, Russia, Russian voters
00:15:55abroad have in fact cast their ballots, you now, according to Russia's foreign
00:15:58ministry, over 121,00
00:16:02Russians voted abroad in over 333 polling
00:16:06stations in more than 150 countries
00:16:09worldwide, so as the polls close in the west here, one
00:16:13thing is clear that this election is being held under these rather
00:16:16extraordinary conditions, both at home and
00:16:19abroad. are determined to have their say, aren't they? i'm going
00:16:23to come back to ala now. ala, aside from this unprecedented drone
00:16:27attack that we saw overnight, have there been any other
00:16:31provocations or disruptions,
00:16:33noted? well, nicky, the
00:16:36elections them. selles they are of course going smoothly, they're being held in
00:16:40full compliance with the law, we are of course seeing high voter
00:16:44turnout, which is well, it serves as proof of that fact, and there
00:16:47hasn't been a single successful attack on these elections, however
00:16:51there have of course been attempts and uh we're seeing continued
00:16:55intimidation of election commission members, as we
00:16:58know uh earlier today uh we've seen two people
00:17:02uh two people have been killed in a drone attack a civilian bus in
00:17:06the Hirson. region of Russia and one of those victims was
00:17:10member the presinct electoral commission in the
00:17:14Herson region who was involved in the conducting of early
00:17:18voting in one of its districts and this was
00:17:21reported by the central election commission head Ella
00:17:24Pomfilova who also spoke of course on cyber attacks
00:17:28saying that over 100 million potential dangers have
00:17:32been
00:17:32thwrted.
00:17:37Over the past period, more than waves of dedos attacks were recorded against
00:17:41infrastructure in the Russian Federation that is specifically involved in the
00:17:45electoral process. Thankfully, there were no successful
00:17:48attacks despite their intensity and power. At the same time, the
00:17:52level of impact is assessed as very high. The attacks were carried
00:17:56out by highly professional, well coordinated groups using artificial
00:17:59intelligence tools. The attacks were launched primarily from
00:18:03abroad. Where did they come from? The United Kingdom, Ukraine,
00:18:07Brazil.
00:18:15now what we're seeing of course as well is so-called fake
00:18:19news about the fairness these elections such as reports
00:18:23on observers being refused entry into polling
00:18:26stations and we do know that only 23 complaints have been received
00:18:30in regards to difficulties in exercising the rights of observers three of
00:18:34which were received today and of course as we know this central election
00:18:38commission takes these complaints very seriously and deals with
00:18:42them promptly, so indeed there have been attempts to undermine the
00:18:45electoral process, however they have produced the opposite
00:18:49effect, and what we've seen today as well, not today, over the past
00:18:53three days is that people have been even more active in casting
00:18:57their votes nationwide. indeed, many thanks to both of you for keeping an eye on
00:19:00things for us for now, isabella Bloomberg, Ala Kidria,
00:19:04thank you very much. Well
00:19:07the crucial vote is also taking place in territories that are coming under daily
00:19:11attack, but despite the threat posed by Ukraine, people say
00:19:15the determined that their voices will be heard. The head the Donies
00:19:19Republican has cast his vote a local polling station, noting that he met quite
00:19:22a few people who wanted to vote in their first state doomer
00:19:26election. Art is Murat Gazdev reports on how the vote is
00:19:30being held under wartime
00:19:32conditions. Across two continents
00:19:36and 11 times of... under ceaseless threat of
00:19:39attack, Russians vote for their new
00:19:42parliament,
00:19:53in their millions, despite constant threats from
00:19:57Ukraine, threats of prosecution and
00:20:00persecution, just for booting, attacks on
00:20:04polling stations, fakes and and
00:20:07propaganda. Yesterday and the day before,
00:20:11leaflets were dropped by drones across most of our region,
00:20:15containing calls to block the electoral process and urging
00:20:18people not to participate in the elections. Every day we are
00:20:22seeing a steady stream of two or three disinformation campaigns coming
00:20:26from the Ukrainian side, along with deep fakes and forged
00:20:30administrative documents, yet few are
00:20:33afraid. People are used to drones and
00:20:36missiles. Verbal threats no longer
00:20:39carry the same weight. Tell me, have you been
00:20:43intimidated? Did Zelensky threaten you saying you shouldn't go to
00:20:46these elections?
00:20:50anything, of course not, generally speaking it is
00:20:54very difficult to intimidate me, it's just not in my nature.
00:20:58God forbid, firstly, I don't recognize the landscate all, and I don't
00:21:02watch him on TV. As for scammers, they've already left me
00:21:05alone. We have lived too long to be
00:21:07intimidated. And that
00:21:11is my vote, one of tens of millions being
00:21:14cast around the donbus an environment where
00:21:18people are actively being. threatened, where electoral
00:21:22officials are receiving death threats, their families, their
00:21:26children, but with every vote cast in the don
00:21:29bass, the people the donbas show
00:21:33that those threats don't scare them, not
00:21:37even strongly worded statements and
00:21:40condemnation could stop these elections and today's
00:21:44meeting the central electoral commission adopted resolution declaring that the
00:21:47organization and conduct of elections for deputies to the state duma the
00:21:51Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine are
00:21:55illegitimate. It is, of course, ironic that
00:21:59Ukraine forbids Ukrainians from voting in these
00:22:03Russian elections, because neither does it allow
00:22:06Ukrainians themselves any elections. They're too
00:22:10dangerous, says the former president of
00:22:13Ukraine. Elections as such are huge
00:22:16risk. Elections right now are a tsunami which could split.
00:22:20Again the irony, Ukraine professes to be fighting for
00:22:24freedom and democracy, but says elections are too
00:22:28dangerous. Russia, which keer accuses of aggression and
00:22:32tyrany, holds elections even in
00:22:34war. He's holding elections in September, he needs a
00:22:38united society that will support his united
00:22:41Russia. On the other hand, doesn't
00:22:44need his society support, his turn expired
00:22:48two years ago.
00:22:50and no one can do anything about it, he already
00:22:53controls all Ukrainian media, all newspapers
00:22:57and online publications, full spectrum
00:23:01propaganda, anyone who criticizes him can be
00:23:04sanctioned, ukrainian or otherwise, else
00:23:08sent a one way trip to the front lines,
00:23:12so elections, you want elections, I'm ready to do it tomorrow, but
00:23:16if we have the war, it's you can't do it, what election?
00:23:20how to make elections with the 9 million people who are abroad and what
00:23:24to do with the people who are temporary or
00:23:28live in temporary occupied territories. Europe of
00:23:31course will bend over backwards to accommodate
00:23:35Zelensky. Kyya Calas, the EU's diplomatic
00:23:39figure head, is never one to overthink it.
00:23:43Simple and cleish is her style. Putin hasn't
00:23:46had elections or Russia hasn't had elections in 20. five
00:23:50years, Zelensky is elected leader, elected
00:23:54in
00:23:54the free and fair elections, and of course during the wartime, you
00:23:58can't have elections, Zelensky's corrupt ministers, his
00:24:02army heads simply don't mind, so long
00:24:06as the EU supports Zelensky, the aid money
00:24:10pours in and it can be divided up and
00:24:14shared around between friends, the only concern
00:24:17is the people of Ukraine. forced brutally to
00:24:21fight a war, they don't want to fight in by a
00:24:25president, they don't want, blasted by propaganda,
00:24:29they don't agree with, and there's nothing they can do
00:24:33about it, but daydream. we must find a legal,
00:24:37safe and realistic mechanism that will allow Ukraine to restore a
00:24:40full-fledged democratic process even under the conditions of a prolonged
00:24:44war. this is difficult, we must guarantee the right to vote for our
00:24:47military, for millions of Ukrainians. abroad and for those
00:24:51in the frontline regions, we must ensure the security the electoral
00:24:55process, the independence of institutions and trust in the
00:24:58results. if Russia could do it, then so could
00:25:02Ukraine, and the only thing stopping elections in
00:25:05Ukraine is the former president, one
00:25:08Zelensky who just doesn't want to
00:25:12leave. Morat Gazdev, r
00:25:15fromk, we're crossing over to our
00:25:19studio in. Moscow now and our correspondent is a Bella
00:25:22Bloomberg. Bella, over to
00:25:24you. Thank you,
00:25:27Nick, as we continue our elections coverage, I'd like to welcome
00:25:31Pavil Feldman, a professor at the Academy of Labor and social
00:25:35relations. Pavil, thank you so much for joining us here today.
00:25:38Before the election, the United Russia party held over two-thirds the
00:25:42seats in the Russian parliament. What are your expectations once these votes
00:25:46are actually calculated?
00:25:55Я думаю, что главным политическим итогом этих
00:25:57выборов
00:26:00конституционного.
00:29:02what's important, all other things are
00:29:05secondary.
00:29:09as we know, these elections are taking place for the first time since the start
00:29:12the special military operation. how do you expect these external
00:29:16pressures, war and sanctions to affect the
00:29:18vote?
00:29:27безусловно, Россия всегда находилась под внешним
00:29:31давление.
00:30:02will be elected and will take seats, so the
00:30:06procedure of voting and the leaders who are being voted for are
00:30:10adapting to the new environment and the new composition the state dum will
00:30:14reflect the new reality. as a political scientist, i'm interested
00:30:18in watching the activities the newly
00:30:21elected veterans the special military operation, they
00:30:25are, they have lot of support from the people,
00:30:29they have the social capital, the trust capital.
00:30:32um and I believe they will be the most important playing the most important
00:30:36role in the new uh
00:30:37duma. You
00:30:41mentioned the people in the special military operation zone, but
00:30:44you know, for the first time we're seeing people vote in those four new
00:30:47regions, but why do
00:30:49you think Moscow has made the decision to go ahead with the voting process
00:30:53despite the threats and the shelling that we've seen for example happen overnight and
00:30:56today?