TRANSCRIPT
Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to have won the country's presidential elections in a landslide, with exit polls [[by pollster the Public Opinion Foundation and the Russian Public Opinion Research Centre]] showing he secured nearly 88 per cent of the votes.
There was record turnout with thousands of people staging protests in polling booth lines at noon local time around the country, and at embassies around the world, against the Russian President.
Several people were detained after throwing green liquid into ballot boxes and some Russians started fires at the polling stations.
Former opposition leader Alexei Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, thanked those who took part in the demonstrations after casting her own vote at the Russian embassy in Berlin, Germany.
"I see that all these people came to our action 'Midday Against Putin' because moving with the entire queue, and they were always supporting, shouting Navalny, thanking me for coming. But thank them, everyone who came and stood in this queue. Perhaps you are interested in what I wrote in the ballot, who I voted for? Of course, I wrote the name Navalny, because it cannot be that a month – during the presidential campaign – a month before the elections, Putin’s main opponent, who is already in prison, was killed."
Her husband, Mr Navalny, was Vladimir Putin's fiercest opponent and died in a remote prison in the Arctic Circle one month ago, with some saying he had been wrongfully incarcerated.
Mr Putin addressed the issue of Mr Navalny's death in his first speech following the election results.
He says there were discussions to exchange the former opposition leader with other imprisoned Russians from western countries ahead of his death.
"The person who spoke to me hadn't finished his sentence yet, and I said: "I agree." But unfortunately, what happened is what happened. On one condition only, I said: "We'll change it so he doesn't come back, let him sit there." But things happen, there's nothing you can do about it."
He says the main condition for Mr Navalny's exchange was that he would never be allowed to returned to Russia.
The United States government has since issued a statement saying Mr Putin's targeting of opponents means the elections were "obviously not free or fair".
While Vladimir Putin warned the West that any intervention in the three day election would be considered an act of aggression.
It comes as on the last day of the country's three-day election Ukraine launched one of its most sweeping set of strikes on the country's infrastructure since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began, with Russia accusing Ukraine of election sabotage.
Russian authorities say 35 drones were launched at targets across Russia, sparking a brief fire at an oil refinery and disrupting electricity supplies in border areas.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has since dismissed the election results, calling them an imitation.
"There is not a single bit of legitimacy in this simulation of an election and there cannot be. This actor should be on trial in The Hague. That's what we have to ensure together with everyone in the world that values life and decency."
Vladimir Putin's election victory means he will begin a fifth consecutive term and remain as President for another six years.
Exit polls show communist candidate Nikolai Kharitonov came second securing just under four per cent of the votes, followed by newcomer Vladislav Davankov and ultra-nationalist Leonid Slutsky.
Mr Putin, a former KGB lieutenant colonel who first rose to power in 1999, will soon at 71-years-old overtake Josef Stalin in becoming Russia's longest-serving leader for more than 200 years.
