Russian presidential candidate Boris Nadezhdin, who is critical of Putin and the war in Ukraine, has been barred from running in the upcoming election by the Central Election Commission (CEC). The CEC claimed there were 5,000 irregularities in his support signatures, despite Nadezhdin saying he had collected over 200,000. This move has further cleared the political landscape of opponents to Putin, who is expected to win the election easily to extend his two-decade rule. Nadezhdin has said he will challenge the ruling at the country's supreme court.