MOSCOW, March 13, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Ukraine was upping its attacks on Russian territory in order to interfere with upcoming presidential elections.

Russia has this week faced some of the most significant attacks on its territory since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine more than two years ago.

Several oil refineries have been hit in waves of drone attacks and on Tuesday groups of pro-Kyiv volunteer fighters made up of Russians who oppose the Kremlin said they had broken into the border regions of Kursk and Belgorod in a brazen attack that was eventually suppressed.

Asked about the attacks in an interview excerpts of which were published on Wednesday, Putin said:

"It's simple. This is all happening against the backdrop of failures on the frontline. They did not achieve any of the goals that they set for themselves last year".

"I have no doubt that the main goal is, if not to disrupt the presidential elections in Russia then to somehow interfere with the normal process," the Ria-Novosti news agency and Rossia 1 television quoted him as saying.

Russia is due to hold presidential elections on March 15-17, with Putin, who has ruled the country since the turn of the century, set to secure another six-year term.