Russia's Tambov votes after deadly drone strike

Voters in the Russian city of Tambov are heading into September 18-20 parliamentary elections after Ukrainian drone attacks hit a major local warehouse, while the only candidate calling for an end to Russia's offensive says the word “peace” has become dangerous.

Tambov, a city of about 250,000 people around 500 kilometres southeast of Moscow, was shaken in July when a Ukrainian drone hit a warehouse of online retailer Wildberries outside the city. Seven people were killed and 25 wounded. A repeat attack a month later destroyed the site, where about 5,000 people used to work.

The result of the vote is not expected to be in doubt, with President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party set for a comfortable majority. Still, residents interviewed by AFP said they considered voting important.

Yana Zenkina, a 32-year-old candidate for the Yabloko party, is the only candidate cited as calling for an end to Russia's offensive. She told AFP that “peace” is considered offensive and dangerous, but said she had received support from young people and older residents.

Zenkina said her campaign videos were banned from local television after the station and local election officials alleged they showed “signs of an extremist nature”.

Yabloko has been banned from running at the national level but is fielding some constituency candidates. Zenkina said Ukrainian attacks, including the one near Tambov, had not caused an influx of support for the pro-peace camp.

Communist Party candidate Andrei Zhidkov told AFP he opposes peace talks with Kyiv, saying that “victory” meant the survival of the state. He said several members of the local party are fighting against Ukraine and six have been killed.

Olga Meshcheryakova, head of the city's employment centre, told AFP that local enterprises could offer comparable salaries to those at the destroyed warehouse, including in the defence industry.