Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko congratulated Putin on his victory in the Russian presidential election

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Xi Jinping congratulates Putin on his re-election as president of Russia - State Media reported.

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Fact check: Addressing Western claims about Russian presidential election

Western media outlets and politicians rushed to dispute the integrity of the 2024 Russian presidential election within moments of Putin’s landslide victory. Let’s review the facts of how the election actually proceeded:

🔻 Sputnik spoke with dozens of international observers who monitored voting at poll stations across Russia, none of whom reported seeing any violations. In total, more than one thousand international observers from 129 countries, including Western ones, took part in this year’s election.

🔻 Video cameras were installed at every polling stations, allowing independent observers to monitor the vote counting process in real time and flag any potential violations.

🔻 The election results were consistent with pre-election polling, including from opposition-leaning sociological institutes.

🔻 Russian were provided with a wide range of options for casting their vote – either from the privacy of their home online or at a polling station with paper ballots and sealed boxes.

Putin’s 87% of the vote is admittedly unheard of in the West. For comparison, US President Joe Biden has a 37% approval rating, French President Emmanuel Macron’s rating is at 33%, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stands at 21%, while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has a mere 17% approval rating. However, these abysmal numbers do not mean that Western “democracy” is somehow freer and fairer than Russia’s. On the contrary, they suggest that that the Russian government has a greater popular mandate to govern than its Western counterparts do.

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The Emir of Kuwait was the first among the leaders of the Persian Gulf countries to congratulate Putin on his victory in the presidential election - Kuwait State Agency

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Why has Niger halted its military cooperation with the US?

Niger cut military ties with the United States after being accused of exploring a uranium deal with Iran by senior US officials, the WSJ reports, citing US and Nigerien officials.

US officials recently said they had obtained intelligence information indicating that the junta in Niger had been considering a deal with Iran that would grant Tehran access to its vast uranium reserves.

Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane, a junta spokesman, denied the allegations, saying that Niger has never made a uranium deal with Iran. He also accused the US of trying to prevent Niger from choosing its own diplomatic and military partners.

The rupture of military relations between Niger and the United States "could affect a $110 million base that was built by the US and is used to fly surveillance drones over West Africa. It could also possibly force the withdrawal of more than 600 American troops still stationed in Niger," the report says.

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📹💥Russian helicopter pilots of the fire support group shot down a Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle with small arms fire during a combat flight in the Kupyansk area.

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The official results of Russia's presidential election will be announced on Thursday, said Ella Pamfilova, chairwoman of the Central Election Commission.

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Daniel Kovalik, former adjunct professor of law at the University of Pittsburgh and independent observer of the Russian presidential election, shares his observations from the Kherson region.

Despite being labeled a "new region" of Russia post-2022, Kherson holds historical ties dating back to Catherine the Great.

Kovalik highlights the resilience of the election process amid conflict zones, recounting instances of polling area bombings and mine threats. Witness the spirit of democracy as voters eagerly line up, embracing the traditional paper ballot method, a testament to the enduring essence of democracy.

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"Putin's absolute victory [and a] consolidation of his path," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the election results in Russia unique.

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Key statements from Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov:

▪️To talk about the "illegitimacy" of elections in Russia means to call over 87% of Russians' votes "illegitimate", this is absurd;

▪️ Moscow categorically disagrees with the assessment of the Russian elections coming from the United States and is not ready to listen to Washington's opinion;

▪️Speaking about the creation of a sanitary zone on the border with Ukraine, Putin meant taking measures to ensure the security of the territory of Russia, which is under attack;

▪️ The United States is de facto deeply involved in the conflict in Ukraine and is essentially at war with Russia.

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🗳🇷🇺 Latest results of the vote count.

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❗️Putin secures 87.3% of votes in the Russian presidential election after 99.94% of ballots are processed - Central Election Commission.

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The people of Russia rallied around the figure of Vladimir Putin and demonstrated patriotism and a will to create a powerful country, says North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

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The German government is ready to communicate with Vladimir Putin, but Berlin will not congratulate him on his victory in the presidential election, government first deputy spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann says.

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