The president has won re-election by a historic landslide...
Vladimir Putin has given a victory speech at his campaign headquarters in Moscow, after preliminary results from the Russian presidential election showed him securing a fifth term with over 87% of the vote.
Speaking in front of his supporters on Sunday night, Putin stressed that:
"Only source of power in the country is the Russian people,"
adding that the vote of every citizen counts when it comes to charting the nation's course.
The Russian leader noted that while the country faces numerous challenges, its people will be up to the task if they remain united.
"No matter who and how they would try to intimidate and suppress us, our will, our consciousness...
Nobody in our history has ever succeeded, won't succeed now or in the future.
Putin went on to thank Russian citizens for the trust they have placed in him.
"I will do my best to solve the tasks set before the country and achieve the goals we all consider to be of the highest priority."
This year's election was marked by record-high turnout.
According to Central Election Commission (CEC) data, it topped 74%, exceeding the figure for the 2018 election (67.47%).
The voting took place for the first time in Russia's new regions:
the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, as well as in Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, which voted overwhelmingly to join Russia in the fall of 2022.
Putin specifically praised the Russian military for risking their lives on the frontlines to protect the country's:
"so-called new, but in fact historic territories."
According to the CEC:
almost 95% of the votes had been counted as of 1am Moscow time, and Putin was leading the race with an estimated 87.3%.
