Russian Investigators Allege Duma Vote Obstruction in Ukraine

The Russian Investigative Committee said Thursday it opened two criminal cases over the obstruction of September 18 Russian parliamentary elections by radical groups in Ukraine.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Scuffles began in Ukraine on the night of September 17 when some 20 right-wing extremists threw smoke bombs at the Russian Embassy in Kiev. Dozens more reportedly blocked the entrance to the building the following day when the polling station opened. Clashes between police and Ukrainian activists also took place outside the Russian consulate in Odesa.

"The Investigative Committee's central investigation department initiated two criminal cases over Ukrainian radicals hindering the conduct of elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federal Assembly… [and] attacking institutions that enjoy international protection," the committee said in a statement.

Russia’s human rights ombudswoman Tatiana Moskalkova said last Sunday she had sent a telegram to the EU mission in Russia, among others, asking them to look into reports that Russian voters had been prevented from casting their ballots by Ukrainian right-wing protesters.