Putin Wins Sixth Term In Power, Hints At Third World War

Russian President Vladimir Putin cemented his grip on power after winning a sixth term as President of Russia.

Putin, 71, won a landslide with 87% of the total votes cast, while communist candidate Nikolay Kharitonov came in second with under 4% votes cast.

Newcomer, Vladislav Davankov, came in third, while ultra-nationalist Leonid Slutsky finished fourth in the polls, which has been criticized by Western powers.

After his victory, Putin said the result was a vindication of support from Russian citizens in the war against Ukraine.

“No matter who or how much they want to intimidate us, no matter who or how much they want to suppress us—our will, our consciousness—no one has ever succeeded in anything like this in history,” the Russian President said.

“It has not worked now and will not work in the future. Never.”

Putin is set to overtake former Russian leader Joseph Stalin as the longest-serving president in Russian history in over 200 years.

Fears of a Third World War loom as Putin hinted that a Russian-NATO conflict will be “one step away from a full-scale World War Three.”

Related: Putin Expresses Readiness For Nuclear War

However, he said “hardly anyone is interested in this (the Third World War)” and warned the West not to send troops to Ukraine.

China has since shown support for Putin’s re-election as both nations expect to strengthen bilateral ties. North Korea is also a strong ally of Putin.

Putin’s win is expected to influence the American presidential election, as voters are expected to consider the foreign policy plans of President Joe Biden and Republican candidate Donald Trump.