The source of the country's strength is the Russian people.

Accordingly, Mr. Putin said that the country's armed forces are making daily progress in Ukraine and are taking the initiative on the battlefield. " Ukrainian offensive operations are ineffective and in some directions, Russian soldiers are overwhelming the enemy ," Mr. Putin said.

In his first speech after winning the election, President Putin also expressed his gratitude to all Russians who voted in the 8th presidential election.

“ The source of the country's strength is the Russian people, the common will of the people of the whole country is formed from the voice of each citizen ,” Mr. Putin emphasized.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a press conference on the evening of March 17, 2024. Photo: RIA Novosti

In addition, President Putin also affirmed that there are conditions for Russia to go further, more firmly, strongly and effectively.

President Putin said that the events that Russia is currently going through have directly affected the high voter turnout in the election.

According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), incumbent President Vladimir Putin is leading in the 2024 Russian presidential election with 87.34% of the vote. This is a record number of support for the Russian leader.

Meanwhile, the remaining candidates are Nikolai Kharitonov, who is winning 4.30% of the votes, Leonid Slutsky - 3.17% of the votes, Vladislav Davankov - 3.80% of the votes. Up to now, the vote counting rate of the election has reached 98.02%.

With this result, Mr. Putin will be elected for a 5th term and become the leader of Russia for the next 6 years. He was President of Russia for the terms of 2000-2004, 2004-2008, 2012-2018, 2018-2024 and held the position of Prime Minister for the period of 2008-2012. Mr. Putin was elected in 2012 and 2018 with 63.6% and 76.69% of the votes, respectively.

The Russian presidential election took place on March 15-17 with more than 94,000 polling stations across the country, including four regions that Russia annexed in October 2022. In many regions, the Russian leader received more than 90% support.

Previously, at 9:00 p.m. Moscow time on March 17 (8:00 p.m. Kaliningrad time or 1:00 a.m. Hanoi time on March 18), the last polling stations in the Russian presidential election in the westernmost province of Kaliningrad closed, ending the 8th presidential election in Russia that lasted for 3 days.

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