Russia has claimed that the UK was behind an alleged cyber-attack during the country’s ongoing constitutional referendum.
The Russian constitutional referendum is being held from 25th June to 1st July, and amendments include one allowing President Putin to run for two more six-year terms and making sure the minimum wage cannot be lower than the subsistence minimum.
However, the Central Election Commission of Russia has claimed that hackers attempted to enter the referendum’s official website on 28th June.
The online portal is currently open for residents of the capital Moscow and the western region of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast to cast their votes, according to local media.
Meanwhile, the rest of Russia can vote in the constitutional referendum at polling stations.
Deputy Chairman of the Central Election Commission, Nikolay Bulaev, 70, said the website was managing around 240,000 requests per second and had experienced no problems.
Bulaev added: “In the morning, DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks on the constitutional referendum website were recorded, presumably from the UK and Singapore.”
Meanwhile, Russians voting in the referendum in person have complained that a number of polling stations consist of no more than car boots and low-standing walls
In the photos, proud Russians are seen queuing by a wall and tree trunk to take part in the referendum while one man is seen casting his vote at a car boot.
Voters also complained that many election points did not follow COVID-19 safety measures while others were not attended by any officials, according to reports.
Voting continues until 1st July.
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Story By: Gheorghi Caraseni, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Central European News
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