Putin says goal of Ukraine's attacks on Russia is to interfere with election, RIA reports

The main goal of Ukraine's recent attacks on Russian regions is to interfere with the upcoming presidential election, President Vladimir Putin said in remarks published on Wednesday. "The main goal, I have no doubt about it, is to - if not to disrupt the presidential elections in Russia - then at least somehow interfere with the normal process of expressing the will of citizens," Putin told Russia's RIA state news agency and Rossiya-1 state television in a wide-ranging interview.

Putin, who launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago, is nearly certain to win the March 15 to 17 presidential vote.