Headline

Putin Wins Russian Presidential Election With 87.97% Of The Vote

Published

2 years ago

March 17, 2024

Vladimir Putin was headed for another six-year term as Russian president Sunday, exit polls showed, paving the way for the hardline former spy to become the longest-serving Russian leader in more than 200 years.

Victory for the 71-year-old in the three-day vote was never in doubt, with all his major opponents dead, in prison or exiled, and authorities waging an unrelenting crackdown on those who publicly oppose the Kremlin or its military offensive on Ukraine.

The government-run VTsIOM pollster projected Putin had won the election with 87 percent of the vote after polls closed in Russia’s western-most region of Kaliningrad at 1700 GMT.

The highly-touted election was marked by a surge in deadly Ukrainian bombardments, incursions into Russian territory by pro-Kyiv sabotage groups and vandalism at polling stations.

The Kremlin cast the election as an opportunity for Russians to throw their weight behind the full-scale military operation in Ukraine, where voting is also being staged in Russian-controlled territories.

Kyiv slammed the vote as a sham and President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced Putin as a “dictator” who was “drunk from power”.

“There is no evil he will not commit to prolong his personal power,” Zelensky said in a message on social media.

– Opposition dismisses vote –

Allies of the late Alexei Navalny — Putin’s most prominent rival, who died in an Arctic prison last month — has urged voters to flood polling stations at noon and spoil their ballots for a “Midday Against Putin” protest.

His wife, Yulia Navalnaya, was greeted by supporters with flowers and applause in Berlin. She said she had written her late husband’s name on her ballot after voting at the Russian embassy.

Some voters in Moscow appeared to heed Navalny’s call, telling AFP they had come to honour his memory and show their opposition in the only legal way possible.

“I came to show that there are many of us, that we exist, that we are not some insignificant minority,” said 19-year-old student Artem Minasyan at a polling station in central Moscow.

Leonid Volkov, a senior aide to the late opposition leader who was recently attacked in Lithuania where he fled political persecution in Russia, dismissed the results published by Moscow.

“The percentages drawn for Putin have, of course, not the slightest relation to reality,” Volkov, Navalny’s former chief of staff wrote on social media.

Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, argued the long lines outside embassies abroad were evidence of support for the Kremlin.

“If the people queueing abroad to vote in the Russian presidential election had taken part in the ‘noon’ action, they would have all dispersed after noon. But no,” she wrote on social media.

– Tributes to Navalny –

At Navalny’s grave in a Moscow cemetery, AFP reporters saw spoiled ballot papers with his name scrawled across them on a pile of flowers.

Navalny, who galvanised mass protests, tried to run against Putin in the 2018 presidential election and toured Russia to drum up support, but his candidacy was rejected.

“We live in a country where we will go to jail if we speak our mind. So when I come to moments like this and see a lot of people, I realise that we are not alone,” said 33-year-old Regina.

There were repeated acts of protest in the first days of polling, with a spate of arrests of Russians accused of pouring dye into ballot boxes or arson attacks.

Any public dissent in Russia has been harshly punished since the start of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 and there were repeated warnings from the authorities against election protests.

The OVD-Info police monitoring group announced that at least 80 people had been detained across nearly 20 cities in Russia for protest actions linked to the elections.

The surge in Ukrainian strikes on Russia continued unabated with the Russian defence ministry reporting at least eight regions attacked overnight and on Sunday morning.

– Fatal border attacks –

Three airports serving the capital briefly suspended operations following the barrage, while a drone attack in the south sparked a fire at an oil refinery.

In Russia’s border city of Belgorod, multiple rounds of shelling killed two — a man and a 16-year-old girl — and wounded 12 more, the region’s governor said Sunday.

The governor has ordered the closure of shopping centres and schools in Belgorod and the surrounding area for two days because of the strikes.

In the Russian-controlled territory of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, where voting is also taking place, “kamikaze drones” set a polling station ablaze, according to the Moscow-installed authorities.

– ‘Difficult period’ –

Putin, a former KGB agent, has been in power since the last day of 1999 and is set to extend his grip over the country until at least 2030.

If he completes another Kremlin term, he will have stayed in power longer than any Russian leader since Catherine the Great in the 18th century.

In a pre-election address Putin said Russia was going through a “difficult period” and called on the country to be “united and self-confident.”

A concert on Red Square is being staged on Monday to mark 10 years since Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula — an event that is also expected to serve as a victory celebration for Putin.

bur/jj

Headline

Russia, China Afraid Of US Under My Administration — Trump

Published

22 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Editor

United States President, Donald Trump, has said Russia and China fear the United States because of the strength of his administration, arguing that American global influence is driven primarily by its military power and leadership.

Trump, in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday stated that rival powers would not take NATO seriously without the United States, claiming the alliance lacks deterrent force in the absence of American involvement.

He expressed doubts about whether NATO members would come to the aid of the US in a real crisis, despite Washington’s continued commitment to the alliance.

The president credited his leadership with rebuilding the US military during his first term and sustaining its strength, describing this as the key reason adversaries show respect and caution toward the country.

He maintained that America’s military dominance has played a central role in preserving global stability and saving lives.

Trump also argued that his administration forced NATO members to increase defence spending, saying many allies had previously failed to meet financial commitments while relying heavily on the US.

He added that his actions helped prevent further escalation in Eastern Europe and contributed to the resolution of multiple conflicts.

According to Trump, the United States remains the only nation that commands genuine fear and respect from both Russia and China, a position he attributed to his administration’s approach to defence, diplomacy, and global leadership.

“He wrote partly, “The only Nation that China and Russia fear and respect is the DJT REBUILT U.S.A. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!! President DJT.”

Headline

Trump To Withdraw US From 66 UN, International Organisations

Published

22 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Editor

United States President, Donald Trump, has announced plans to withdraw the US from 66 United Nations and international organisations, including key global bodies focused on climate change, peace and democracy.

The decision was disclosed in a presidential memorandum released by the White House on Wednesday evening, following a review of which “organizations, conventions, and treaties are contrary to the interests of the United States.”

According to Trump, the move will see the US end its participation in the affected organisations and cut all related funding.

A list shared by the White House showed that 35 of the organisations are non-UN bodies, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Although listed as a non-UN body by the White House, the IPCC is a United Nations organisation that brings together leading scientists to assess climate change evidence and provide periodic reports to guide political leaders.

The memorandum also announced the US withdrawal from 31 UN entities, including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the UN Democracy Fund, and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), which focuses on maternal and child health.

Several of the targeted UN bodies are involved in protecting vulnerable groups during armed conflicts, including the UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.

Reacting to the announcement, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a note to correspondents on Wednesday evening that the organisation expected to issue a response by Thursday morning.

Despite repeatedly stating his desire to limit US involvement in UN forums, Trump has continued to exert influence on international decision-making.

In October last year, he threatened to impose sanctions on diplomats who formally adopted a levy on polluting shipping fuels that had already been agreed to at an earlier meeting, a move that stalled the deal for 12 months.

The Trump administration also sanctioned UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese after she released a report detailing the role of international and US companies in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

During his first term in 2017, Trump similarly threatened to cut aid to countries that supported a draft UN resolution condemning the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the US wields significant influence at the United Nations, including veto power, which it has repeatedly used to block efforts to end Israel’s war on Gaza before later mediating a ceasefire.

(Aljazeera)

Headline

UK Supported US Mission To Seize Russian-flagged Oil Tanker – Defense Ministry

Published

1 day ago

January 7, 2026

Editor

The British Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday that it provided support to the United States in its operation to seize a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic.

US seized the tanker, which was being shadowed by a Russian submarine on Wednesday, after pursuing it for more than two weeks across the Atlantic as part of Washington’s efforts to block Venezuelan oil exports.

According to Britain, its armed forces gave pre-planned operational support, including basing following a US request for assistance.

The UK also said a military vessel provided support for the US forces pursuing the tanker, and the Royal Air Force provided surveillance support from the air.

Defence Secretary John Healey stated that the operation targeted a vessel with a nefarious history linked to Russian and Iranian sanctions evasion networks.

“This action formed part of global efforts to crack down on sanctions busting,” he said in a statement.

According to him, the US was Britain’s closest defence and security partner.

“The depth of our defence relationship with the US is an essential part of our security, and today’s seamlessly executed operation shows just how well this works in practice,” he added.

The British government said that the Bella-1 tanker, now renamed Marinera, is sanctioned by the US under its counter-Iran sanctions,

The MoD statement said the support was provided in full compliance with international law.