The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has arrested a Russian citizen working for the Ukrainian group Freedom of Russia Legion - designated as a terrorist organization in Russia - for planning a terrorist attack in Bryansk during the upcoming Russian presidential election weekend, according to a report by TASS citing the FSB Public Relations Center.

"The FSB in coordination with the Russian Interior Ministry detained a Krasnodar Region resident, a Russian citizen born in 2002. Working for the Ukrainian terrorist organization Freedom of Russia Legion, he was planning terrorist attacks in Bryansk in order to destabilize the socio-political situation amid the upcoming Russian presidential election," the report said.

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At the direction of an organizational leader, the recruited Russian retrieved explosive devices from a hidden location in the Kaluga Region and placed them near the entrances of the city's administrative buildings, TASS added.

An investigation has been launched by the security agency in the Bryansk and Kaluga regions.

Another incident linked to the Ukrainian-formed legion was also reported earlier. The FSB detained a Russian citizen who took part in building and launching drones against Russian defense systems.

Polling stations have opened on Friday across Russia for the 2024 presidential election, with President Vladimir Putin contending against three opponents.

EU might not recognize the election outcome

Russians in 28 regions can vote online via the country’s electronic system, with Moscow residents exempt from special requests.

A high turnout of around 71% is projected, with early voting already underway in remote regions, recording approximately two million ballots cast according to the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTSIOM) pollster.

Peter Stano, the chief spokesperson for the European Union's external affairs, said Thursday that each member of the EU will decide whether to recognize Russia's impending presidential election, adding that the group would first have to observe the entire process.

Stano explained during a briefing that the "decision about recognition or non-recognition of elections is for the member states to consider after we see the whole process."

The spokesperson also stated that the European Commission will not comment on the election until it takes place and that Brussels will not accept the results in Russia's accessioned regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.