Zelensky sees in Putin a man “drunk with power” who wants to “rule forever”

2024-03-18 01:46:47

While Vladimir Putin has just been re-elected for six more years at the head of Russia, kyiv took advantage of this unopposed election to once again strongly criticize the master of the Kremlin.

In power for almost a quarter of a century, Vladimir Putin collected more than 87% of the votes on Sunday after counting 80% of the polling stations, according to the electoral commission.

For Zelensky, Putin wants to “rule forever”

In view of these results, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky considered that his Russian counterpart was a man “drunk with power” who wants to “reign eternally”.

Vladimir Putin, who will be able to run again after this new mandate to potentially remain in power until 2036, for his part praised in his speech after his victory the soldiers fighting in Ukraine, who “risk their lives” to “protect the territories history of Russia. According to him, Moscow’s objectives will be “achieved”.

The Russians “are mowing down the enemy”

Russian forces, on the offensive since the capture of Avdiïvka in mid-February against a Ukrainian army lacking men and ammunition, have “complete initiative” on the front, said the Russian president. “In certain regions, our men are mowing down the enemy,” he insisted during his televised intervention.

This three-day election, from Friday to Sunday, was marked by deadly airstrikes and attempted ground incursions from Ukraine into Russian territory, responses to Russia’s daily bombings and assaults against its neighbor since more than two years.