Russia election booths to open by Poland, Baltics

Russia said it will open 10 voting points near border crossings with Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia for Russians living in those EU countries to vote in a three-day parliamentary election starting Friday.

Ella Pamfilova, head of Russia's electoral commission, said four voting points would be in the Kaliningrad exclave, which borders Poland and Lithuania. Five more will be in the Pskov region, near Latvia and Estonia, and one will be in the Leningrad region on the border with Estonia.

Russian diplomatic missions will also open polling stations in other EU countries, Moscow has said.

Russia's ties with Poland and the three Baltic states are effectively frozen over the war in Ukraine. Embassies remain open, but many diplomats have been expelled and most Russian consulates have closed.

The Baltic states have sizeable Russian minorities. Poland and the Baltic states have also taken in some Russians who left their country in protest at the Ukraine war.