Russian President and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin meets with the media at his campaign headquarters in Moscow on March 18, 2024. (Photo by NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / POOL / AFP)
Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday thanked Russians for voting and backing him an election he was set to win in a landslide.
"I want to thank the citizens of Russia... who came to the polling stations and voted," Putin said after exit polls and early results showed him on track to secure 87 percent.
As the offensive in Ukraine entered its third year, he expressed "special words of gratitude to our soldiers... who fulfil the most important task of protecting our people".
Putin also said Monday that the death of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny was a "sad event", and that he had been ready to release him in a prisoner exchange.
Using his name in public for the first time in years during a televised news conference, Putin said: "As for Mr. Navalny. Yes, he passed away. This is a sad event."
He added: "A few days before Mr. Navalny passed away, some colleagues told me... there was an idea to exchange Mr. Navalny for some people who are in prison in Western countries... I said 'I agree'."
