An estimated quarter of a million Russian citizens cast ballots in presidential elections held outside the homeland. This figure was announced by Evgeniy Ivanov, the deputy head of the Foreign Ministry, as reported by the Commission on Elections of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and cited by TASS.
Officials reported that the total number of voters reached 249,806 at the briefing held by the Central Election Commission. The deputy head noted that the data were current as of 18:00 Moscow time and included votes cast during early and three-day voting periods.
Ivanov also stated that anti-Russian groups abroad attempted to stage protests that were described as pathetic and unscrupulous, but these attempts were swiftly contained. He singled out the most shocking incident as the throwing of Molotov cocktails in Chisinau, Moldova, calling it a particularly grave act.
According to the diplomat, the method used in that incident was crude and ineffective.
Earlier, the Central Election Commission press service reported that the current president held a lead with a percentage of 87.34% after about 40% of the vote tallies had been processed. The vote count in Russia itself had already commenced with results continuing to unfold across the country.