A political confidant known as Vladimir Putin’s “chef” appears to have made the first chilling admission of Russian “pinpoint operations” to interfere in US elections, ahead of the upcoming midterm vote.

Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, considered very close to Mr Putin, made the comments on Telegram in response to a journalist’s question about Moscow meddling in Tuesday’s elections.

“I will answer you very subtly, and delicately and I apologise, I will allow a certain ambiguity. Gentlemen, we interfered, we interfere and we will interfere,” Mr Prigozhin said.

“Carefully, precisely, surgically and in our own way, as we know how.

“During our pinpoint operations, we will remove both kidneys and the liver at once.”

Mr Prigozhin was dubbed the ‘chef’ by the Russian press having created a commerical empire through government contracts catering for schools and the Russian army.

Although believed to be close to Mr Putin, he does not have an official post within the government.

His comments come as US President Joe Biden faces a nightmare result when the US midterm elections are held on Tuesday (local time).

The Republicans are expected to win control of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate too as Donald Trump rallies his supporters for a possible presidential comeback.

Surging inflation and fears of rising crime have led many voters to sour on Mr Biden’s leadership, with only 40 per cent of Americans approving of his job performance, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Mr Trump has played a significant role in the midterms, shaping the Republican field through endorsements and hinting at another presidential run at campaign rallies.

Many Republican candidates have echoed Mr Trump’s baseless claims of fraud in his 2020 election defeat and some of them could end up as governors or election administrators.

In a final pitch to voters, Mr Biden will hold a rally on friendly terrain in Democratic Maryland as his sagging popularity has made him unwelcome in much of the country.

Mr Trump is due to speak in Ohio on Monday.

Elon Musk backs Republicans

Elon Musk has recommended that US voters pick Republican candidates for Congress in a message posted to Twitter.

Mr Musk directed his tweet to “independent-minded voters”.

He wrote: “Shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties, therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the presidency is Democratic.

“Hardcore Democrats or Republicans never vote for the other side, so independent voters are the ones who actually decide who’s in charge!”.

Tweet from @elonmusk

Mr Musk has previously said he would vote for Republicans but says he backs moderates on both sides of the aisle.

In April, Mr Musk said that for “Twitter to deserve public trust, it must be politically neutral, which effectively means upsetting the far right and the far left equally”.

Mr Musk frequently comments on US politics.

He said previously that he was leaning towards supporting Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis for president in 2024 and that former president Donald Trump was too old to serve as president again.

More than 40 million American have already cast their ballots, either in person or through the mail, according to the US Elections Project, which tracks early voting.

Because some states allow ballots to be mailed on election day, experts say it might be days or weeks before the outcome of some close races — and control of Congress — is clear.

-with AAP