US, UK, most EU nations to boycott Putin inauguration

Putin, seen at an Orthodox Easter service at the weekend, recorded more than 87 percent of vote in the controversial March election [Valeriy Sharifulin/Sputnik Pool via Reuters]

The United States and most European Union nations have said they will not send envoys to Tuesday’s inauguration of Vladimir Putin as Russian president.

Putin, 71, secured a fifth term in office in a March election that critics said lacked democratic legitimacy.