Elections in Russia were not free and fair and were based on oppression and intimidation, European foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said today, commenting on Vladimir Putin’s triumphant re-election with over 87% of the vote.

According to Borrell, the 27 EU member states will issue a joint statement on the elections later today.

The Russian president, already in power for a quarter of a century, secured another six years in the Kremlin, despite the invasion of Ukraine, the crackdown in Russia and the confrontation with the West:

China and North Korea – along with the “communist” countries of Latin America – were quick to congratulate Putin.

The West, however, did not welcome the result of the Russian elections, saying they were not fair and free.

New sanctions are coming

“The Russian elections were elections without a choice,” said the German foreign minister at the start of a meeting of European foreign ministers.

Burbok also said the EU would open the way for new sanctions against Russia.

“The re-election of Russian President Vladimir Putin took place in a context of repression in civil society and the conditions for free and democratic elections were not respected,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also hailed the courage of “many Russian citizens who peacefully protested against the attack on their fundamental political rights.”

Why did the Russians vote for him?

While the war with Ukraine is ongoing (with heavy losses for the country’s society and economy) and the severe repression at home of any form of opposition, Russian citizens have once again voted for Putin en masse.

Some dissidents are now dead, such as Alexei Navalny or Boris Nemtsov, who was assassinated in 2015. Countless famous and anonymous dissidents are rotting in prison for denouncing the invasion of Ukraine.

Still, for the majority of his countrymen, Putin remains the man who restored the honor of a Russia undermined by the poverty, corruption and decadence of his alcoholic predecessor Boris Yeltsin.