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       From Friday to Sunday, Russian voters will head to the polls to choose the country’s next president – but the result is not expected to deliver any surprise.

       There’s little doubt among international observers that Vladimir Putin, who’s running for his fifth six-year term, will come out victorious. Many of his opponents have been silenced, imprisoned or driven to exile, none have been permitted to stand against him, and independent media outlets that could show criticism of his policies have been blocked.

       A victory for the incumbent president would mean that Putin is likely to remain in power until at least 2030, by which time he will be 77 years old.

       Russia's economy is going strong: why haven't Western sanctions worked?

       Despite their predictable outcome, the elections are still being watched closely by those trying to understand where Russia might be headed – and what lies in store for the conflict in Ukraine.

       Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming election.

       Who can vote?

       Any Russian citizen over age 18 who is not in prison on a criminal conviction can vote in the country’s presidential ballot.

       According to the country’s Central Election Commission (CEC), there are 112.3 million eligible voters across Russia itself and Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. Another 1.9 million eligible voters live abroad.

       Not all of these voters are likely to participate. Turnout in Russia’s last election, in 2018, was 67.5%, although observers and individual voters reported widespread violations, including ballot-box stuffing and forced voting. Turnout in the 2021 parliamentary election, meanwhile, was 51.7%.

       A billboard which promotes the upcoming presidential election with words in Russian: "Time to vote" is seen in a street in Donetsk of Russian-controlled Donetsk region. AP Photo

       How does the voting work?

       This is the first time in a Russian presidential election that polls will be open for three days instead of one.

       It's also the first presidential election to use online voting. The option will be available in 27 Russian regions and Crimea, which Moscow illegally seized from Ukraine 10 years ago.

       The vote will also take place in Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson –the four regions of Ukraine officially annexed in 2022, even though Russian forces don’t fully control them.

       Early voting in the election started in late February. According to the CEC, almost 740,000 people have cast their ballots since then.

       Is Putin the only candidate?

       Putin is running as an independent candidate this year, seeking a fifth term in office. He’s only allowed to do that thanks to constitutional changes he pushed through that reset his term limits in 2020.

       First elected in 2000 at the height of the second Chechen war, he is now the longest-serving Kremlin leader since Josef Stalin.

       Other candidates who will be on the ballot were nominated by Kremlin-friendly parties represented in parliament: Nikolai Kharitonov of the Communist Party, Leonid Slutsky of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, and Vladislav Davankov of the New People Party.

       They all broadly support Kremlin policies, including the war in Ukraine.

       No opposition figures who could have challenged Putin are on the ballot.

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       Chancellor Olaf Scholz defended his refusal to send Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine, telling German lawmakers on Wednesday that prudence is not a weakness while insisting that he trusts Kyiv.

       Germany has become the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the US, but Scholz has held out for months against Ukraine's desire for German Taurus missiles.

       They have a range of up to 500 kilometres – meaning they could in theory be used against targets far into Russian territory.

       That position has frustrated the main centre-right opposition bloc and parts of Scholz's three-party coalition.

       Criticism didn't diminish after Scholz finally offered a detailed explanation last month, pointing to his insistence that Germany must not become directly involved in the war.

       The chancellor has long insisted he is determined to help Ukraine without escalating the war and drawing Germany and NATO into it, stressing that no German soldiers will go to Ukraine.

       On February 22, German lawmakers called on the government to deliver further long-range weapons to Ukraine. They voted down an opposition call explicitly urging the transfer of Taurus missiles, however.

       Over the past two years, Scholz has at times drawn criticism for appearing to hesitate before offering Kyiv various German weapons systems, such as the Leopard 2 battle tanks. He has dug in much harder on Taurus missiles, though he has stopped short of explicitly ruling out delivering them at some point.

       "From my point of view, this is a very long-range weapon," he told parliament's lower house, the Bundestag. "Given the significance of not losing control over targets, this weapon could not be used without the deployment of German soldiers. I reject that."

       Highlighting Germany's extensive contributions to Ukraine's defence, Scholz said "it remains central that we weigh every individual decision carefully."

       "Prudence is not something that one can qualify as a weakness, as some do," he said. "Prudence is something that the citizens of our country are entitled to."

       Excuses, excuses

       Critics reject Scholz's insistence that Taurus missiles could only be responsibly used with the involvement of German soldiers whether inside or outside Ukraine – which he said is "a line that I as chancellor do not want to cross."

       In a sometimes testy exchange with conservative lawmakers at a regular question-and-answer session, Scholz rejected the suggestion he didn't trust Ukraine to use the missiles responsibly.

       "We trust Ukraine. That's why Germany is by a long distance the biggest supplier of weapons among the European states," he said.

       Britain and France have long since announced that they were sending Storm Shadow and Scalp long-range missiles, respectively, to Ukraine.

       But Scholz said last month that "what is being done in the way of target control and accompanying target control on the part of the British and the French can't be done in Germany." He didn't elaborate then, or on Wednesday.

       Conservative lawmaker Norbert R？ttgen accused Scholz of "not explaining the real motives for your policy, (and) repeatedly finding new excuses that in part contradict each other and rule each other out."

       On Thursday, the centre-right opposition is putting a new motion urging the government to send Taurus missiles to a vote in the Bundestag, hoping to exploit divisions in the governing coalition.

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       The embarrassing leak of a recording of four high-ranking German air force officers discussing hypothetically how Kyiv could use Taurus missiles against Russian forces was barely alluded to in Wednesday's session.

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       Days after being criticised for a comment appearing to suggest that Ukraine surrender to Russia, Catholic Pope Francis on Wednesday issued a statement condemning all wars.

       In an interview with Swiss broadcaster RSI, partially released on Saturday, the pontiff had suggested that Ukraine should have “the courage to raise the white flag” and open talks with Russia to end the two-year conflict.

       His comments have been condemned by both Ukraine and its allies.

       President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday said Francis was engaging in "virtual mediation" and his foreign minister said Kyiv would never capitulate.

       In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said: “Our flag is blue and yellow. We live, die and win under it. We will not raise other flags.”

       Then on Monday, the foreign ministry summoned the papal ambassador to Ukraine, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, to express Kyiv's disappointment in the pontiff's statement.

       In an interview with Euronews, the archbishop said the Pope was not suggesting Ukraine surrender to Russia.

       “When he used the term 'negotiations', the Pope implied that all parties should be involved in the process. Specifically, it should be the aggressors, in this case, Russia, who cease fire first and create conditions for negotiation,” he said.

       He added that while talk about negotiation “might sound naive, given the unfavourable events of the past few years”, the Pope was suggesting that new approaches be explored to “ultimately find the most suitable form of negotiation, one that respects Ukraine and human lives”.

       Kylbokas said that, the Vatican’s support for Ukraine goes beyond mere humanitarian aid and that various forms of assistance are being offered.