Voters in Moscow are casting ballots in Russian local and gubernatorial elections, including those for mayor of the capital and governors of 20 regions.

The voting began on Friday following balloting in the country's Far East earlier in the day.

A man in the capital said he voted for its incumbent mayor Sergei Sobyanin, a close aide to President Vladimir Putin.

The man said Putin and his administration are handling things quite well in general, even in the current time of crisis.

Another man in his 20s expressed the need for change, but said people are now afraid of change and want stability.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Putin plans to vote in Moscow's mayoral election.

Russia is also staging what it calls elections in four eastern and southern Ukrainian regions -- Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Russia unilaterally declared annexation of the four regions last September.

The administration of President Vladimir Putin is seeking an overwhelming victory for the ruling United Russia party to provide momentum for the country's presidential election next March.