Russian President Vladimir Putin has achieved direct election for a sixth term after achieving more than half of the votes cast in the presidential elections held between Friday and Sunday, according to official data that is still provisional.
The Central Electoral Commission has reported that after counting 57.37 percent of the votes, Putin has obtained 87.17 percent support, which represents 50.06 percent of the total votes cast.
The results of the elections were not affected by the death in prison of the opposition leader, Alexei Navalnyfor which his coreligionists hold the Kremlin responsible, nor for the Ukrainian border incursions of recent days.
In a press conference, the new Russian president made some worrying statements about NATO’s participation in the ukrainian war.
“One step away from World War III”
The Russian president has denounced that NATO soldiers are already fighting in Ukraine and dying “in large numbers” on the battlefield.
Specifically, he said that “the soldiers of NATO countries They are present there. We know“and has assured that Russian soldiers hear them speak in French and Englishwhich, he pointed out, “is not good at all, mainly for them, since they die.” “And they do so in large numbers,” he added.
Regarding a possible conflict between Russia and the Atlantic Alliance, he responded that “in today’s world everything is possible”. “Everyone understands that this will put us one step away from a full-scale Third World War.”. “I don’t think anyone is interested in this,” she said.
In turn, he has not ruled out that the Russian Army will have to create a “sanitary zone” (security zone) in the territory under kyiv’s control in the northeastern region of Kharkiv to reduce attacks against Russian territory.
In the Kremlin until 2030
Vladimir Putin will remain in the Kremlin until 2030 after achieving Sunday his biggest electoral victory since coming to power, mandate that will allow him to continue the military campaign in Ukraine and his current fight with the West.
In that same press conference he thanked the Russian citizens for his victory, “we are all one team. All the citizens who went to the polling stations and voted,” he said.
He highlighted that the high participation, the highest since 1991, is closely linked to the war in Ukraine.
“This is related to the fact that we are forced, in the literal sense of the word, to defend the interests of our citizens with weapons in hand,” he stated.
Regarding the challenges, he stressed that the priority is “to achieve the objectives within the framework of the special military operation and strengthen the Armed Forces”.
He approved Navalni’s exchange, but “what happened happened
The Russian president has assured that he approved the exchange of the opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, days before he died suddenly in an Arctic prison, of which his co-religionists directly accuse him.
“Believe me or not. The man who spoke to me had not finished the sentence and I already said: I agree. But “Unfortunately what happened happened.”stated Putin, who pronounced Navalny’s name for the first time.
Putin has explained that someone who does not belong to the presidential administration – Navalni’s allies mentioned the tycoon Roman Abramovich – proposed to exchange the opponent for Russians imprisoned in European countries.
“But with one condition I accepted it: we exchange it, but that it doesn’t come back again. That it stays there. But that’s life,” he said. Putin has alluded to “Mr. Navalny” and described his death in a prison in the Arctic Circle as “a sad event.”