Putin hugged and kissed by elderly supporters during Stavropol visit ahead of election

Vladimir Putin was hugged and kissed by elderly supporters during a visit to Russia’s southern Stavropol region on Tuesday 5 March, several days ahead of the upcoming presidential elections.

The Russian president toured a greenhouse complex, where he was shown a prototype of a robotic tomato harvester that is expected to harvest 4.5 tons of tomatoes per day - four times more than a human.

Mr Putin was then seen mingling with people on the streets, where a number of women kissed and hugged him.