Putin Threatens NATO With World War III in His First Post-Election Speech

Throughout the three-day voting, which concluded on Sunday, Putin had no real opposition. Election observers and Western nations have not hesitated to label it a “sham” contest. Putin’s remarks follow French President Emmanuel Macron’s declaration last week that, should Russia’s invasion continue, he could not rule out the deployment of French troops in Ukraine.

Additionally, Putin suggested using the Kharkiv area of Ukraine as a buffer zone between the two nations. According to reports, during the election, Ukraine intensified its bombardment of Russian border regions. According to exit polls released by the state-sponsored Russian Public Opinion Research Center and the Public Opinion Foundation, Putin received 87% of the vote during the three-day election, with no other contenders allowed to compete.

Threat to NATO and Ukraine in Vladimir Putin’s speech

President Vladimir Putin establishes his authority in Russia after winning the election and holds it until 2030.

With more than 87% of the vote and little opposition, Putin is well-positioned to use his new term to further solidify his hold on Russian politics.

He is expected to overtake Stalin as Russia’s longest-serving leader in 200 years at the age of 71. Putin presented his triumph as justification for his actions with regard to Ukraine in his victory address.

However, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Sunday that Putin had grown “addicted to power,” while the White House stated the election was “obviously not free nor fair.”

In addition, Putin mentioned Alexei Navalny in his speech on Monday for the first time since the opposition leader’s death on February 16 in a Russian prison colony.

Putin said that the 47-year-old “passed away” and stated he had consented to a prisoner exchange with the United States in which Navalny would be released on the proviso that he would never go back to Russia.

“Make no mistake, Putin is responsible,” stated U.S. President Joe Biden last month, blaming Putin for Navalny’s demise. Additionally, after Navalny passed away, there were never-before-seen rallies in Russia, and his widow Yulia Navalnaya called for protests at voting places with the slogan “noon against Putin.”

Her late spouse had approved the idea before to his passing. Navalnaya said on Sunday that she had put “Navalny” on her vote for the election. Regarding her fans, she remarked, “You give me hope that everything is not in vain, that we will still fight.”

Voter “crimes” will face consequences, even a Russia-NATO

Vladimir Putin, who easily won a record-breaking presidential election with an outcome that was predetermined, said in defiance that Russia will not be deterred from pursuing its objectives.

Putin said to fans in Moscow late on Sunday, “No matter how much anybody wanted to suppress us, our will, our consciousness, nobody in history has ever succeeded, they have not succeeded now, and they will never succeed.”

He declared that “all the major and in some areas, grandiose plans” he had prior to the election “will certainly be achieved.

However, Putin, Russia’s longest-serving leader since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, is extending his nearly quarter-century rule into a fifth term as his troops are on the offensive in Ukraine.

The election results showed him with 87.2% support, giving him another six years as president to step up his war in Ukraine and

conflict with the West. Long lines formed outside polling stations, including in Moscow and St. Petersburg, after allies of opposition leader Alexey Navalny called on people to protest Putin’s election. Russia is pressing its advantage in the third year of the invasion, which has become Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II.

Putin challenges West to try to defeat Russia

Putin has criticized Western countries supporting Ukraine, accusing them of fueling hostilities and threatening to fight until the last Ukrainian.

He criticized Western allies for fueling the conflict and called it a tragedy for the Ukrainian people. Putin emphasized that Russia has not started any serious military action in Ukraine and called for everyone to understand that the situation is heading in the right direction.

Putin, in a powerful speech since Russia invaded Ukraine, challenged Western allies supporting Ukraine, claiming they want to defeat them on the battlefield.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak argued that the only plan by the “collective West” was the Russian Army’s invasion, which shelled cities and killed civilians.

Moscow accuses the West of waging a proxy war against it by imposing economic sanctions and increasing the supply of advanced weapons to Ukraine. The sanctions have impacted Russia’s leading banks, defense-industry enterprises, large companies, and individuals, including Putin. Many multinational corporations have withdrawn from the Russian market, leaving thousands of Russian workers behind.