On Sunday, British Foreign Minister David Cameron disregarded early Russian election results indicating that President Vladimir Putin had been convincingly re-elected.
“The polls have closed in Russia, following the illegal holding of elections on Ukrainian territory, a lack of choice for voters and no independent OSCE monitoring,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter.
“This is not what free and fair elections look like,” he said.
Exit polls suggest that 71-year-old Putin has secured another six-year term as Russian president, paving the way for the hardline former spy to become the longest-serving Russian leader in more than 200 years.
With all his major opponents dead, in prison or exiled, Putin’s victory was never really in doubt.
Authorities have also been waging an unrelenting crackdown on those who publicly oppose the Kremlin or its military offensive on Ukraine.