🇳🇮 Nicaragua's president congratulated Putin on his victory, saying the results of the Russian vote are a contribution to world stability

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🗣 Putin called the political situation in the US "a catastrophe, not a democracy"

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Ex-CIA officer reveals how the US interferes in other countries’ elections

“You identify an existing opposition group and provide it funding. Or you create an opposition group and provide it funding. You create propaganda… and then you create documentaries, movies and news items for television. And now, with the advent of social media, you use social media to try to develop memes and develop ideas,” Larry Johnson, a retired CIA intelligence officer and State Department official, tells Sputnik.

“Using media propaganda is another way to try to influence elections. And then actually using force, regime change through organizing a military coup of some sort. United States has done it all,” Johnson says.

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❗️ Putin's main statements during his press conference at election headquarters:

▪️ The election results reflect the trust and hopes of the country's citizens in their ability to fulfill set planned actions.

▪️ People participated in the presidential vote to promote domestic political unity and stability.

▪️ Regarding the upcoming term, Putin stressed the importance of the tasks related to ongoing military operation, enhancing defense capabilities, and supporting the armed forces.

▪️ Regarding the new Cabinet of Ministers, he suggested avoiding unnecessary excitement and taking a calm approach since there is two months’ time to make decisions.

▪️When discussing the outlawed Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC)*, Putin equated them to the Vlasovites, who collaborated with the Bandera Nazis.

▪️ Concerning Navalny's death: Putin noted that this is the natural course of life, and nothing can be done about that, but noted he was ready for an exchange deal involving Navalny.

▪️ Russia is in favor of peaceful dialogue on the Ukraine conflict but emphasizes the need for serious and constructive communication.

▪️ Putin acknowledged the possibility of a conflict with NATO, highlighting the unpredictability of today's world.

▪️ Committing to national development goals, Putin affirmed his administration's dedication to advancing progress in all sectors of society.

*Terrorist group banned in Russia

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🗣 "You're here and it means that not everything is lost for the United States," Putin told NBC News correspondent, Keir Simmons, who was the only foreign journalist on President Putin's campaign trail. In 2021, the Russian President sat down for a major interview with Keir Simmons.

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📹 Vladimir Putin's full speech at election headquarters

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🎥 FULL FOOTAGE: Vladimir Putin's press conference

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❗️ North Korea has launched a ballistic missile, South Korean media report

🇨🇺 Cuban authorities congratulate Vladimir Putin on his victory in the Russian presidential election and hope to strengthen ties with Russia, the republic's Foreign Ministry said.

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Under President Vladimir Putin, who has been re-elected for a six-year term, Russia will modernize its existing branches of the armed forces and create new ones, designated as a priority, Alexey Leonkov, a military analyst, told Sputnik.

What are these branches?

▪️ Hypersonic systems of the new generation will become more compact and maneuverable so that they can be part of the ground forces, the navy or the aerospace forces;

▪️ Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will be categorized into three modifications: reconnaissance, scout/attack, and loitering ammunition. These drones will be further divided into tactical and operational-tactical zones for land or sea theaters.

▪️ Electronic warfare systems will now incorporate explosive magnetic devices that are designed to produce an electromagnetic effect on all of the enemy's combat control systems.

▪️ The laser complexes will see an expansion with the introduction of a new system, currently referred to as "Zabiyaka," in addition to the existing "Peresvet" complex;

▪️ Surface-to-air missile systems will undergo modernization to tackle a wide range of targets, from barrage munitions to objects that can fly at hypersonic speeds. S-500 complexes will be massively put into service, a mobile missile defense complex under working name "Nudol" will be completed;

▪️ Artillery and multiple launch rocket systems are set to be equipped with high-precision projectiles;

▪️ The navy will receive complexes to combat air and surface targets, including unmanned ones;

▪️ The Aerospace Forces will be equipped with hypersonic systems and aerial bombs containing a universal planning and correction module;

“Putin's election victory is one of the decisive factors, because under [him] we [Russia] have built a chain that begins with research and development and ends with the arrival of modern weapons and military equipment in our valiant armed forces,” Leonkov concluded.

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🗳🇷🇺 Latest results of vote counting

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After Putin has been re-elected Russian president, the priority of national foreign policy in the next six years will the country’s very intense activity in the post-Soviet space and Eurasia, Dmitry Evstafiev, political scientist and HSE University professor, tells Sputnik.

He adds that other priorities may include:

▪️ Dialog with the West, above all with the United States, not on Ukraine, but on a wide range of security issues related to Europe and beyond.

Prof. Evstafiev, however, notes that “The West sees as a problem that Russia is not the one they want. As soon as the West realizes that it's not about Russia, but about the inadequacy of their perception of the modern world, there will be grounds for talking with the West seriously.”

▪️ Dialog with the Global South to continue a relevant foreign policy line that was defined earlier;

▪️ Creating a new space of geo-economic security in case of the collapse of the American-centered global economy based on the US dollar. It might include new payment systems or conducting non-dollar mutual settlements with Russia’s leading role in it.

“Putin is not the kind of person who makes sharp U-turns. He makes gradual decisive changes. Everyone understands the scale of his changes three years after they were committed,” Evstafiev concludes.

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Putin’s support in previous presidential elections

Vladimir Putin’s victory in the Russian presidential election this year is his biggest electoral triumph to date as he managed to garner over 80% of the vote - achieved amid a record voter turnout.

For comparison, here are Putin’s performances in the previous four Russian presidential elections that he participated in as candidate:
2018 – 76.69%
2012 – 63.6%
2004 – 71.3%
2000 – 52.9%

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🗳🇷🇺 Latest results of vote counting

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Vladimir Putin's election win has opened the door to the next six-year term of his presidency. What do the countries of the Global South expect from Putin's forthcoming tenure?

"The Global South most urgently needs economic development and wants the right to choose its own path of development without it being imposed by any foreign entity. They also need unconditional support for this development. So they look to Russia and President Putin to support these efforts," Dr. Anuradha Chenoy, a retired professor at the Center for Russian and Central Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, told Sputnik.

According to Chenoy, Russia's approach to the Global South differs greatly from that of the West:

🔸 Russia's support to the Global South is unconditional;

🔸 Russia does not intervene through regime change, sanctions, assassinations, military or intervention;

🔸 Russia is not looking for proxies to carry out its agenda in contrast to the US;

🔸 Russia does not have a CIA-style structure operating in other countries to intervene in their politics.

Under Putin, Russia has especially focused on relations with the Global South as more and more developing states plot a course towards pursuing an independent domestic and foreign policy, and adhering to their own development model.

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