‘This is not democracy’: west says landslide Putin victory reveals depth of repression

Western nations have widely condemned Russia's presidential election, which saw Vladimir Putin claim a landslide victory amid a crackdown on dissent and opposition that will keep him in power until at least 2030.

- Pjotr Sauer

"These Russian elections starkly underline the depth of repression under President Putin's regime, which seeks to silence any opposition to his illegal war," said the British foreign secretary, David Cameron, as EU foreign ministers met to approve new sanctions against 30 individuals and organisations in response to the death of the opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

"Putin removes his political opponents, controls the media, and then crowns himself the winner. This is not democracy," Cameron added.

In Washington, the state department spokesman Vedant Patel denounced the election as "undemocratic" and said the US will not congratulate Putin.

"This was an incredibly undemocratic process," Patel told reporters, detailing the jailing and disqualification of opponents and Navalny's death in an Arctic penal colony. "He is likely to remain the president of Russia, but that does not excuse him of his autocracy," Patel said.

Calling Russia a dictatorship, a German government spokesperson said the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, would not congratulate Putin on his re-election in a vote viewed by Berlin as "predetermined".