Summary
That concludes today’s updates on the Russia-Ukraine war. Here’s what happened:
Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said it was “critically important” for the US to provide additional military aid to Ukraine, during a meeting with US senator Lindsey Graham on Monday. “It is critically important for us that the Congress soon completes all the necessary procedures and makes a final decision … which will strengthen the Ukrainian economy and our armed forces,” Zelenskiy said in a statement, AFP reported.
Putin declared the Donbas and other occupied areas as the “New Russia” during a speech in Moscow’s Red Square remarks to mark his re-election and the 10th anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, BBC reported. Putin added that a new rail link is being built through parts of occupied Ukraine, noting that those regions have “declared their desire to return to their native family”.
Putin added that Crimea returned ‘to our common family’ during his remarks. “Through decades, they carried faith in their fatherland. They never separated themselves from Russia and that’s what allowed Crimea to return to our common family,” he said.
Putin also compared Crimea to an aircraft carrier that returned to its “home harbor”. “Ten years ago here, in the Red Square, on this very stage, I recalled that Crimea is often called an unsinkable aircraft carrier and it is appropriate to say that Crimea has returned to the home harbor,” Putin said.
An independent Russian vote monitoring group has said that the presidential election that Vladimir Putin won in a landslide with nearly 90% of the vote was the most fraudulent and corrupt in the country’s history. Golos (Voice) said the three-day election that ended on Sunday could not be considered genuine because “the campaign took place in a situation where the fundamental articles of the Russian constitution, guaranteeing political rights and freedoms, were essentially not in effect”. “Never before have we seen a presidential campaign that fell so far short of constitutional standards,” the group said in a statement.
That’s it for today. Thank you for reading.
Here’s more information on Western reaction to Putin’s election from the Guardian’s Pjotr Sauer.
Updated
EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell said that EU foreign ministers strongly support taking revenue from frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, but no consensus has been reached, Reuters reported.
“I am not saying there was unanimity but [there was] a strong consensus to take this decision,” Borrell said on Monday to reporters following a meeting with the ministers held in Brussels.
Updated
Meanwhile, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said it was “critically important” for the US to provide additional military aid to Ukraine, during a meeting with US senator Lindsey Graham.
“It is critically important for us that the Congress soon completes all the necessary procedures and makes a final decision … which will strengthen the Ukrainian economy and our armed forces,” Zelenskiy said in a statement, AFP reported.
A $60bn aid package to Ukraine is currently being stalled by Republicans in the House of Representatives, who want additional aid to be connected to tougher policies on immigration.
Updated
Putin says Ukraine region of Donbas and other occupied areas part of 'New Russia'
Putin also declared the Donbas and other occupied areas as the “New Russia”, in his Red Square remarks, BBC reported.
Putin added that a new rail link is being built through parts of occupied Ukraine, adding that those regions have “declared their desire to return to their native family”.
“All this is happening thanks to you, citizens of Russia,” Putin added.
Updated
Putin says Crimea returned 'to our common family' in speech marking 10th anniversary of annexation
Putin added: “Through decades, they carried faith in their fatherland. They never separated themselves from Russia and that’s what allowed Crimea to return to our common family.”
Other presidential candidates also joined Putin on stage and gave remarks.
Nikolai Kharitonov, who finished in second place with only 4% of the vote said: “Of Russia and Crimea, there is only one motherland. And I congratulate you on this 10th anniversary.”
Third-place finisher Vladislav Davankov said: “Dear friends, I will always remember that feeling of pride for my country and my president, exactly 10 years ago and I congratulate you. I congratulate you on that event,” looking towards Putin.
To conclude the remarks, Putin said: “All glory to Russia.”
The Russian national anthem was then sung onstage by Putin, the other candidates, and featured performers.
Updated
Putin says 'Crimea has returned to the home harbor'
In brief remarks, Putin spoke on the importance of Crimea on the 10th anniversary of Russia’s annexation of the region.
“Ten years ago here, in the Red Square, on this very stage, I recalled that Crimea is often called an unsinkable aircraft carrier and it is appropriate to say that Crimea has returned to the home harbor,” Putin said.
“But Crimea is not only strategically important territory, not only our history, our traditions, and Russia’s pride. Crimea, above all is people … they are our pride.”
Updated
Vladimir Putin has just come on stage at the rally to celebrate his election and the 10th anniversary of the unilateral annexation of Crimea.
The large crowd applauded his arrival and briefly chanted.
Stay tuned for more of his remarks.
Updated
A concert and rally are now under way in Moscow’s Red Square to celebrate Putin’s election and the 10th anniversary of the annexation of Crimea.
The band Radio Tapok is currently performing, BBC Russia’s Liza Fokht reports.
тем временем, на Красной площади идет концерт по случаю победы Путина на выборах и десятилетия аннексии Крыма.
— Liza Fokht (@lizafokht) March 18, 2024
сейчас, например, выступает ансамбль Radio Tapok с песней о ляхах и иноверце Владиславе, которые узурпировали власть, пока Пожарский ведет ополчение в Москву (не шучу) pic.twitter.com/JjVf5e63Gz
Updated
Crowds gather near Red Square ahead of rally to mark Russia's annexation of Crimea and Putin's election victory
A rally/concert to mark the 10th anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea is due to take place shortly.
The event, being held in central Moscow, will also mark Vladimir Putin’s electoral victory. Much of the Russian president’s address is likely to focus on his invasion of Ukraine, a topic that he made front and centre in his victory speech on Sunday night.
Some Telegram channels have reported that university students have been bussed into Moscow for the event, which is being heavily policed, according to BBC News.
Updated
Summary of the day so far...
An independent Russian vote monitoring group has said that the presidential election that Vladimir Putin won in a landslide with nearly 90% of the vote was the most fraudulent and corrupt in the country’s history. Golos (Voice) said the three-day election that ended on Sunday could not be considered genuine because “the campaign took place in a situation where the fundamental articles of the Russian constitution, guaranteeing political rights and freedoms, were essentially not in effect”. “Never before have we seen a presidential campaign that fell so far short of constitutional standards,” the group said in a statement.
The European Council has agreed to increase its support to the Ukrainian armed forces by €5bn ($5.44bn; £4.3bn), through a dedicated assistance fund, it said in a statement. “With the fund, we will continue to support Ukraine defend itself from Russia’s war of aggression with whatever it takes and for as long as we need to,” the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said.
The Kremlin said that the only way to protect Russian territory from Ukrainian attacks was to create a buffer zone that would put Russian regions beyond the reach of Ukrainian fire. In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “Against the backdrop of (Ukrainian) drone attacks and the shelling of our territory: public facilities, residential buildings, measures must be taken to secure these territories. They can only be secured by creating some kind of buffer zone so that any means that the enemy uses to strike us are out of range.” Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters that Vladimir Putin’s statement that he wanted to create a buffer zone in Ukrainian territory is a clear declaration that the war will escalate. “This is … a direct manifest statement that the war will only escalate,” he said.
Western leaders and ministers have denounced what they have described as a sham Russian election, in which Putin won a fifth term as Russian president by a landslide of about 87%, according to exit polls. The EU has said the Russian election took place in a highly restricted environment “exacerbated by Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine”. Latvian minister Krišjānis Kariņš said: “Russia will not stop, they can only be stopped. Ukraine is prepared to do the stopping but they need our assistance.”
Adding to western condemnation of the Russian presidential election’s outcome and process, the UK’s foreign secretary, David Cameron, said the election highlighted the “depth of repression” in the country under Putin. “These Russian elections starkly underline the depth of repression under President Putin’s regime, which seeks to silence any opposition to his illegal war,” Cameron, who is a former Conservative prime minister, said in a statement, referring to the war in Ukraine. “Putin removes his political opponents, controls the media, and then crowns himself the winner. This is not democracy.”
China’s president, Xi Jinping, congratulated Putin on winning another term as Russia’s president and said China was set to maintain close communication with Russia to promote their partnership, according to Chinese state media. “Your re-election is a full demonstration of the support of the Russian people for you,” Xi was quoted as saying by Xinhua News. “I believe that under your leadership, Russia will certainly be able to achieve greater achievements in national development and construction.” India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, congratulated Putin on his election win, saying that he was looking forward to strengthening ties to develop their “special and privileged” strategic partnership in the years to come.
Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina senator and foreign policy hawk who has long advocated arming Ukraine against Russian invaders, arrived in Kyiv on Monday morning. “Unwavering US support is critical to Ukraine’s success in confronting an illegal full-scale war with Russia,” the US embassy captioned the photo of his arrival by train.
Updated
EU council agrees to increase support to Ukraine's armed forces by £4.3bn
The European Council has agreed to increase its support to Ukrainian armed forces by €5bn ($5.44bn; £4.3bn), through a dedicated assistance fund, it said in a statement.
“With the fund, we will continue to support Ukraine defend itself from Russia’s war of aggression with whatever it takes and for as long as we need to,” the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said.
European support has become increasingly key to Kyiv’s war effort as the US president, Joe Biden, has been unable to get a huge Ukraine aid package through Congress, and much of his foreign policy energy is focused on Israel’s war in Gaza.
But European countries are struggling to find enough weapons and ammunition to send to Ukraine, and US help worth $60bn (£47bn) is stalled over political differences in Washington.
On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces withdrew from the strategic eastern city of Avdiivka last month, where they had battled a fierce Russian assault for four months despite being heavily outnumbered and outgunned.
Updated
Here are some of the latest images coming out from the newswires:
Updated
India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has congratulated Vladimir Putin on his election win, saying that he was looking forward to strengthening ties to develop their “special and privileged” strategic partnership in the years to come.
Warm congratulations to H.E. Mr. Vladimir Putin on his re-election as the President of the Russian Federation. Look forward to working together to further strengthen the time-tested Special & Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia in the years to come.…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 18, 2024
Former oligarch and prominent Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky has called on western governments not to recognise Vladimir Putin’s election win.
“It is now about … finally publicly recognising Putin as illegitimate,” Khodorkovsky told journalists in Berlin.
“We have high expectations for western society, who we ask to turn to their governments to ask them not to recognise Putin as legitimate,” he said in an event at the Center for Liberal Modernity thinktank.
“When western heads of state and government shake Putin’s hand, that is a very strong legitimation for Putin at home.”
Updated
Vladimir Putin is due to speak later on Monday at a large stadium event in Moscow to mark the 10th anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Much of his address is likely to focus on his invasion of Ukraine, a topic that he made front and centre in his victory speech on Sunday night.
We will be covering the address, which is expected to start around 4pm GMT, in this blog.
Sunday’s Russian presidential election results had “nothing to do with reality”, Irina Scherbakova, co-founder of the Russian rights organisation, Memorial, told AFP in Berlin.
Vladimir Putin’s 87% share of the vote showed “the rise of this dictatorship”, Scherbakova said.
The apparent landslide was a “very threatening symbol”, she added, warning of “hard times” ahead for the domestic opposition in Russia.
“We have to expect that violence and repression will be used and that Putin will want revenge.”
The election had. however, shown that there were “many people who are not afraid to actually express their opinion”, she said.
Communist Party candidate Nikolai Kharitonov managed little more than 4% of the vote and his fellow candidates even less, in an election which has been broadly criticised by western countries as unfair and undemocratic.
Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italy’s far-right League party who serves as a deputy prime minister, said the outcome of Russia’s election must be accepted because “when people vote they are always right,” Reuters reported.
“They (Russians) voted and we acknowledge that, hoping that 2024 will be the year of peace,” he told reporters.
Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office, has said that the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children now includes 33 countries.
“The return of illegally deported and forcibly displaced Ukrainian children requires joint international efforts,” he stressed, adding that he is grateful to Canada’s foreign minister, Mélanie Joly, for the initiative to create the coalition.
The International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, led by 🇺🇦 and 🇨🇦, has already united 33 countries.
— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) March 18, 2024
Welcome 🇦🇱 🇦🇹 🇧🇪 🇧🇬 🇨🇿 🇨🇷 🇩🇰 🇪🇪 🇫🇮 🇫🇷 🇬🇪 🇩🇪 🇮🇸 🇮🇪 🇮🇹 🇱🇻 🇱🇹 🇱🇺 🇲🇹 🇲🇩 🇲🇪 🇳🇱 🇳🇴 🇲🇰 🇵🇱 🇵🇹 🇷🇴 🇪🇸 🇸🇪 🇬🇧 🇺🇸. pic.twitter.com/jpIm5qJdNw
Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters today that Vladimir Putin’s statement that he wanted to create a buffer zone in Ukrainian territory is a clear declaration that the war will escalate.
“This is ... a direct manifest statement that the war will only escalate,” he said.
The centre-right European People’s party is calling for EU foreign ministers to declare that Vladimir Putin is not Russia’s legitimate president.
“The EU is preparing a new package of sanctions targeting those involved in the death of Alexei Navalny. This is the right thing to do,” said Rasa Juknevičienė, a Lithuanian member of the European parliament and the EPP' group’s vice-chair in charge of foreign affairs.
“But in addition to sanctions, the EU member states should first officially declare that there have been no elections in Russia and that Vladimir Putin cannot be considered the leader of the country. Vladimir Putin is not a president, and the voting was not an election,” she stressed.
Russian interior ministry launches 61 criminal cases after presidential election - report
BBC News has reported that 61 criminal cases were launched by the Russian interior ministry following the presidential election.
Sixty-one criminal cases have been launched by the Russian interior ministry, and 150 administrative offence acts have been issued, during the 15-17 March presidential election, the Interfax news agency reports.
Deputy interior minister Alexander Gorovoy has been quoted by the Moscow-based news agency saying the largest number of criminal cases were for announcing a deliberately false act of terrorism (23) and for obstructing voters in exercising their rights (21).
Gorovoy claims that ministry departments had received “1,400 statements and reports of violations and possible crimes”, and that 547 hoax bomb threats were made during the three-day election period.
As we’ve been reporting, at least 80 people have been arrested across Russia for allegedly vandalising polling stations.
Updated
Independent Russian vote monitoring group says presidential election most corrupt in country's history
An independent Russian vote monitoring group has said that the presidential election that Vladimir Putin won in a landslide with nearly 90% of the vote was the most fraudulent and corrupt in the country’s history.
Golos (Voice) said the three-day election that ended on Sunday could not be considered genuine because “the campaign took place in a situation where the fundamental articles of the Russian constitution, guaranteeing political rights and freedoms, were essentially not in effect”.
“Never before have we seen a presidential campaign that fell so far short of constitutional standards,” the group said in a statement.
Founded in 2000, Golos is the only Russian electoral watchdog independent of the authorities. Branded a “foreign agent” in 2013, it was barred from sending observers to polling stations. One of its leaders, Grigory Melkonyants, is in prison awaiting trial on what Golos says are politicised charges.
The government claimed turnout was the highest in history at 74% of the electorate. Putin’s previous highest result came in 2018, when he purported to earn 76.7% of the vote with a 67.5% turnout.
Voting took place in the Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine: Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea.
Putin has faced no meaningful contest after the authorities barred two candidates who had voiced their opposition to the war in Ukraine.
Three other politicians running in the election did not directly question Putin’s authority and their participation was meant to add an air of legitimacy to the race.
Updated
The UK’s defence secretary, Grant Shapps, said on X: “Putin has stolen another election, but he will not steal Ukraine.”
A German government spokesperson said the country’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, would not congratulate Vladimir Putin on his re-election because “the result was predetermined”.
Updated
US senator Lindsey Graham arrives in Kyiv
Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina senator and foreign policy hawk who has long advocated arming Ukraine against Russian invaders, has arrived in Kyiv.
“Unwavering US support is critical to Ukraine’s success in confronting an illegal full-scale war with Russia,” the US embassy captioned the photo of his arrival by train.
Сьогодні ми вітаємо сенатора @LindseyGrahamSC у Києві. Непохитна підтримка США має вирішальне значення для успіху України у протистоянні незаконній повномасштабній війні з Росією. pic.twitter.com/Dm1QW2IfUQ
— U.S. Embassy Kyiv (@USEmbassyKyiv) March 18, 2024
Graham is a prominent ally of Donald Trump, the former president and prospective Republican presidential nominee who is generally held to favour Russia and Putin.
Last month, he voted against a $95bn defence and foreign aid package that would significantly boost Kyiv.
Updated
Summary of the day so far...
The Kremlin said that the only way to protect Russian territory from Ukrainian attacks was to create a buffer zone that would put Russian regions beyond the reach of Ukrainian fire. In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “Against the backdrop of (Ukrainian) drone attacks and the shelling of our territory: public facilities, residential buildings, measures must be taken to secure these territories. They can only be secured by creating some kind of buffer zone so that any means that the enemy uses to strike us are out of range.” It came as the local governor said on Monday that two people were killed and four more injured in Ukrainian shelling of the village of Nikolskoye in Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine.
Western leaders and ministers have denounced what they have described as a sham Russian election, in which Vladimir Putin won a fifth term as Russian president by a landslide of about 87%, according to exit polls. The EU has said the Russian election took place in a highly restricted environment “exacerbated by Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine”. Latvian minister Krišjānis Kariņš said: “Russia will not stop, they can only be stopped. Ukraine is prepared to do the stopping but they need our assistance.”
Adding to western condemnation of the Russian presidential election’s outcome and process, the UK’s foreign secretary, David Cameron, said the outcome of Russia’s election highlighted the “depth of repression” in the country under Vladimir Putin. “These Russian elections starkly underline the depth of repression under President Putin’s regime, which seeks to silence any opposition to his illegal war,” Cameron, who is a former Conservative prime minister, said in a statement, referring to the war in Ukraine. “Putin removes his political opponents, controls the media, and then crowns himself the winner. This is not democracy.”
China’s president, Xi Jinping, congratulated Vladimir Putin on winning another term as Russia’s president and said China was set to maintain close communication with Russia to promote their partnership, according to Chinese state media. “Your re-election is a full demonstration of the support of the Russian people for you,” Xi was quoted as saying by Xinhua News. “I believe that under your leadership, Russia will certainly be able to achieve greater achievements in national development and construction.”
Updated
Donald Trump’s continuing lavish praise and support for Russian president Vladimir Putin is fuelling alarm among former intelligence officials and other experts who fear another Trump presidency would benefit Moscow and harm American democracy and interests overseas.
Trump praised Putin as a “genius” and “pretty savvy” when Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, and has boasted he would end the war in a “day”, sparking critics’ fears that if he’s elected again Trump would help Russia achieve a favourable peace deal by cutting off aid to Kyiv. Trump also recently greenlit Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to Nato members who don’t pay enough to the alliance.
“Trump views Putin as a strongman,” said Fiona Hill, a senior fellow at Brookings Institution and a national security official in the first two years of Trump’s administration. “In a way they’re working in parallel because they’re both trying to weaken the US, but for very different reasons.”
More recently, instead of criticising Putin for the death of Alexei Navalny, Russia’s leading opposition figure, who the Kremlin once tried to kill with poison, and who died suddenly last month in an Arctic penal colony, Trump weirdly equated the four criminal prosecutions he faces with Navalny’s fate as political prisoners.
You can read the full story by my colleague, Peter Stone, here:
Updated
Kremlin says creation of a 'buffer zone' is necessary to protect Russian territory from Ukrainian attacks
The Kremlin said that the only way to protect Russian territory from Ukrainian attacks was to create a buffer zone that would put Russian regions beyond the reach of Ukrainian fire, Reuters reports.
In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said:
Against the backdrop of (Ukrainian) drone attacks and the shelling of our territory: public facilities, residential buildings, measures must be taken to secure these territories.
They can only be secured by creating some kind of buffer zone so that any means that the enemy uses to strike us are out of range.
Putin did not rule out setting up such a buffer zone after winning his fifth term as Russian president in the election, which has been widely condemned as illegitimate.
“I do not exclude that, bearing in mind the tragic events taking place today, that we will be forced at some point, when we deem it appropriate, to create a certain ‘sanitary zone’ in the territories today under the Kyiv regime,” Putin said.
The Russian president said such a zone might have to be big enough to stop foreign-made weapons striking Russian territory.
He spoke after being asked whether he thought it necessary for Russia to take Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, which borders Belgorod, a Russian province that has come under regular attack from Ukrainian forces since 2022.
Updated
David Cameron: Russian election outcome shows 'depth of repression' under Putin
The UK’s foreign secretary, David Cameron, has said the outcome of Russia’s election highlighted the “depth of repression” in the country under Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
“These Russian elections starkly underline the depth of repression under President Putin’s regime, which seeks to silence any opposition to his illegal war,” Cameron, who is a former Conservative prime minister, said in a statement, referring to the war in Ukraine.
“Putin removes his political opponents, controls the media, and then crowns himself the winner. This is not democracy.”
Cameron said holding elections in Crimea, Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia “is an abhorrent violation of the UN Charter and Ukrainian sovereignty” and adds those regions “will always be Ukrainian”.
Putin was standing for the six-year term against three candidates from parties who had not criticised his rule nor his invasion of Ukraine.
Updated
Polish farmers blocked two border crossings with Germany on Monday, local police said.
Farmers in Poland and across the EU have been calling for changes to restrictions placed on them by the EU’s Green Deal plan to tackle climate change, and for the re-imposition of customs duties on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine that were waived after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
On Monday, farmers blocked the Swiecko and Gubinek border crossings with Germany. A local police spokesperson said that the blockades started on Sunday and were scheduled to continue until Wednesday.
“Traffic in Swiecko and Gubinek is blocked, you cannot travel in either direction,” Marcin Maludy, a spokesperson for the police in nearby Gorzow Wielkopolski, was quoted by Reuters as saying.
Maludy said that the only possibility for trucks in the Lubusz region travelling to Germany was to go to Olszyn whereas cars could go through the remaining crossings in the region.
Polish farmers are planning mass protests across the country on Wednesday, keeping up pressure on officials to act on their demands.
They have a particular grievance because of increased competition from neighbouring non-EU Ukraine’s farmers, who they accuse of flooding EU markets with cheap imports that leave them unable to compete.
The EU lifted tariffs two years ago on Ukrainian imports after Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country. Poland, Hungary and Slovakia subsequently imposed national bans on grain imports.
Two people were killed and four more injured in Ukrainian shelling of the village of Nikolskoye in Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, the local governor said on Monday.
Attacks on Belgorod have taken place frequently since 2022 but escalated in the run-up to Russia’s presidential election which concluded on Sunday.
Belgorod, a city and a region more than 600km from Moscow, is just over half an hour’s drive from the border with Ukraine, making it a vital stop for Russian supply lines, but also uniquely vulnerable.
The EU has said the Russian election took place in a highly restricted environment “exacerbated by Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine”.
The EU said it regretted the decision of Russian authorities not to invite international observers to its elections.
“This runs contrary to Russia’s commitments and has denied Russia’s voters and institutions an impartial and independent assessment of these elections,” the bloc of 27 nations said in a joint statement.
It also said that “so-called elections” held in the territories of Ukraine that Russia has temporarily occupied were “null and void”.
The EU’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, has condemned the Russian elections while foreign ministers gathered in Brussels warned that with another five years in power Putin “will not stop” but he “has to be stopped”.
“This has not been a free and fair election. It has been based on repression and intimidation,” he said.
Latvian minister Krišjānis Kariņš said: “Russia will not stop, they can only be stopped. Ukraine is prepared to do the stopping but they need our assistance.”
Kariņš praised Emmanuel Macron for inserting “strategic ambiguity” into the EU’s response by suggesting European troops could be deployed in Ukraine. “France sees the urgency we in the Baltics have had for the past two years.”
The council of foreign ministers hope to adopt several sets of sanctions today including two related to Russia – one against those involved in the treatment of Alexei Navalny and another to give Ukraine the windfall profits from Russian assets sitting in the Euroclear bank in Belgium since the start of the war.
Xi Jinping congratulates Putin on his election victory
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has congratulated Vladimir Putin on winning another term as Russia’s president and said China was set to maintain close communication with Russia to promote their partnership, according to Chinese state media.
“Your re-election is a full demonstration of the support of the Russian people for you,” Xi was quoted as saying by Xinhua News.
“I believe that under your leadership, Russia will certainly be able to achieve greater achievements in national development and construction.”
China has strengthened its ties with Russia over the past few years, with the two countries having declared a “no limits” partnership in February 2022 when Putin visited Beijing just days before he launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“China attaches great importance to the development of China-Russia relations and stands ready to maintain close communication with Russia to promote the sustained, healthy, stable and in-depth development of the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership,” Xi added.
It has been reported that China and Russia are preparing “several meetings” between Xi and Putin this year.
More than a dozen European Council members have said that the EU must increase its security and defensive capabilities in the face of Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine.
Finland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Sweden were the signatories to the joint letter, which stresses the importance of the EU’s defence industry to wider European security.
The letter reads:
Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine has brought rapid, profound and long- lasting changes to the European security environment.
We must continue to provide strong political, economic and military support to Ukraine for as long as necessary and the EU must increase its strength and capabilities in security and defence.
In the coming months, we will be setting the EU’s future strategic priorities amongst which, the security and defence sector will be one of the main issues.
The signatories say the European Investment Bank (EIB), which functions as a lending arm to the EU and plays a key role in investment financing in Europe, needs to be empowered to invest in defence-related initiatives beyond existing dual-use projects.
“This would mean discussing and re- evaluating current definitions of dual-use projects and the list of excluded activities as well as reconsidering its defence industry lending policy and other restrictive elements,” the letter reads.
“We stress the importance of discussing this matter in a manner, which takes into account the impact on EIB’s risk profile and that safeguards EIBs financing basis.”
Updated
Ukraine has collected pretrial information on over 128,000 victims of war crimes, Veronika Plotnikova, the head of the coordinating centre for support of victims and witnesses of the prosecutor general’s office, has said.
War crimes include acts such as deliberate attacks on civilians, attacks on cultural sites or medical institutions, torture and deportations.
She said:
The Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations has recorded information on more than 128,000 victims of war crimes, and the number is growing every day of the war.
We see our function as being a bridge between the victims and those who provide help.
We are creating an ecosystem of support because no government body, no organisation can provide for so many victims.
Here is a video of Vladimir Putin’s election victory speech, in which he vowed to prioritise what he called Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin faced no meaningful contest after the authorities barred two candidates who had voiced their opposition to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Three other politicians running in the election did not directly question Putin’s authority and their participation was meant to add an air of legitimacy to the race.
The re-election of Vladimir Putin as Russian president took place in a context of repression within civil society and the conditions for a free and democratic election were not respected, the French foreign ministry has said.
The ministry also praised in the statement the courage of “the many Russian citizens who peacefully protested against this attack on their fundamental political rights”.
Thousands of people turned up at polling stations in Russia and capitals across the world on Sunday to take part in what the anti-Kremlin opposition said was a peaceful but symbolic protest against Putin’s re-election.
In an action called “noon against Putin”, Russians who opposed the leader went to their local polling station at midday to either spoil their ballot paper or to vote for one of the three candidates standing against Putin.
The German broadcaster Deutsche Welle estimated that more than 2,000 voters turned up for the midday protest outside the Russian embassy in Berlin.
Others had vowed to write the name of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died last month in an Arctic prison, on their voting slip and some visited Navalny’s grave in Moscow to symbolically cast their vote for him.
Updated
Western leaders denounce Putin’s 'illegitimate' election win
Western leaders have denounced what they have described as a sham Russian election, in which Vladimir Putin won a fifth term as Russian president by a landslide of about 87%, according to exit polls.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, dismissed the result as illegitimate.
“Everyone in the world understands that this person, like many others throughout history, has become sick with power and will stop at nothing to rule forever,” he said.
“There is no evil he would not do to maintain his personal power. And no one in the world would have been safeguarded from this.”
The US national security council spokesperson, John Kirby, said: “The elections are obviously not free nor fair given how Mr Putin has imprisoned political opponents and prevented others from running against him.”
The UK’s foreign secretary, David Cameron, said the “illegal” elections featured “a lack of choice for voters and no independent OSCE monitoring”, adding: “This is not what free and fair elections look like.”
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.
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) March 17, 2024
This is not what free and fair elections look like.
Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, said the “elections were neither free nor fair”.
The Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavsky, meanwhile, called the election a “farce and parody”. He said: “This was the Russian presidential election that showed how this regime suppresses civil society, independent media, opposition.”
Some of Russia’s allies, on the other hand, have congratulated Putin on his victory and said they hope friendly relations between their countries continue.
Beijing congratulated the Russian president, saying “China and Russia are each other’s largest neighbours and comprehensive strategic cooperative partners in the new era”.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said President Xi Jinping and Putin “will continue to maintain close exchanges, lead the two countries to continue to uphold longstanding good-neighbourly friendship, deepen comprehensive strategic coordination”.
Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik said: “The Serb people welcomed with joy the victory of President Putin for they see in him a great statesman and a friend on whom we can always count and who will watch over our people.”
Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro, said: “Our older brother has triumphed, which bodes well for the world”.
Updated
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin claimed a landslide victory and a fifth term in Russia’s presidential election, with the Kremlin’s electoral machine boosting his share of the vote and turnout to near farcical levels.
With 99 percent of polling stations having submitted results, Putin had secured 87.33 percent of all votes cast, official election data showed Monday, according to state news agency RIA.
Western authorities have criticised Russia’s election as being neither free nor fair. Thousands pf people in Russia and around the world protested against his deepening dictatorship during the course of the election.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in an address on Sunday evening, said Putin had become “addicted to power”.
“This imitation of ‘elections’ has no legitimacy and cannot have any,” he said. “This person must end up in the dock in The Hague. This is what we must ensure, anyone in the world who values life and decency.”
The German foreign ministry wrote in a post on X that the “pseudo-election in Russia is neither free nor fair, the result will surprise nobody. Putin’s rule is authoritarian, he relies on censorship, repression & violence. The ‘election’ in the occupied territories of Ukraine is null and void & another breach of international law.”
The UK’s foreign secretary, David Cameron, meanwhile, criticised the vote, saying “this is not what free and fair elections look like”, while the Polish foreign ministry said that it’s “impossible to make a free, democratic choice” in the Russian election.
We will bring you more reaction to Putin’s election victory shortly. In other key developments:
The war in Ukraine was front and centre in his victory speech, as Putin claimed he was securing the border from recent raids by pro-Ukrainian military units and said that his main tasks as president would be the war in Ukraine, “strengthening defence capacity and the military”. Asked about the potential for a direct conflict with Nato, he said: “I think that everything is possible in the modern world … everyone understands that this would be one step from a full-scale third world war. I don’t think that anyone is interested in that.”
Speaking in central Moscow after early results indicated he had won Russia’s presidential election in a landslide, Putin said unnamed people made an offer to release Alexei Navalny, the late Russian opposition leader, in a swap deal with the west a few days before he died. “The person who spoke to me hadn’t finished his sentence, and I said I agree. But, unfortunately, what happened, happened,” Putin said. It was the first time the Russian president had commented on Navalny since his death, which he called a “sad event”.
The Russian embassy in the US will send Washington a diplomatic note on Monday protesting against the actions of the secret service during Russia’s presidential election on Sunday, Tass state news agency reported. Citing Russia’s ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, Tass reported that secret service officers “allowed blocking the entrance to the Russian embassy and creating obstacles for Russian citizens who came to vote”.
China will consider taking part in a peace conference aimed at ending the war in Ukraine which neutral Switzerland plans to host in the coming months, the Asian country’s ambassador to Berne was quoted as saying on Monday. Wang Shihting, China’s ambassador to Switzerland, said in an interview with the Neue Zuercher Zeitung that all parties should work to end the war. The Swiss government has said it aims to hold the peace conference by this summer after the idea was floated in January.
Ukraine’s air defence systems destroyed 17 out of 22 Russia-launched drones overnight, Ukraine’s air force has said. The air force wrote on Telegram that in addition to the attack drones, Russia also launched seven missiles at Ukraine.
Ukraine reported dozens of attacks by Russia near their shared border on Sunday, with more than 60 shelling incidents in the district of Sumy in which one person was killed. Earlier on Sunday one man was killed and at least eight people were wounded in a Russian missile attack on the Black Sea port city of Mykolaiv, Ukrainian officials said.
A drone strike at a military installation in Moldova’s breakaway republic of Transnistria on Sunday destroyed a helicopter and ignited a fire, authorities in the pro-Russia region said, blaming the strike on Ukraine. However, Moldova’s Bureau for Reintegration Policies said in a statement that after examining video footage, they “do not confirm any attack” on Transnistria and called it “an attempt to cause fear and panic in the region”. It added that the military equipment destroyed in the footage, which appeared across social media, “has not worked for several years”.
