Russia Slams Western Critics of Presidential Election

The Russian Foreign Ministry shot back at claims that Moscow's presidential election was tipped in Vladimir Putin's favor, instead saying that Western leaders cannot fathom Russia's "nationwide unity."

Putin on Monday officially secured enough votes to win a fifth presidential term but the outcome of Russia's three-day election was anticipated even before the Kremlin strongman announced his reelection bid in the fall.

Western officials have long accused Russia of rigging elections in Putin's favor, who after Monday's win will hold the presidency until at least 2030, when he can run again and remain in office until 2036.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters on Monday that there was "nothing free or fair" about Moscow's election process. And a spokesperson for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Berlin's leader has no plans of congratulating Putin on his win, calling the results "predetermined."

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova dismissed such claims in a series of posts to her Telegram channel on Sunday, accusing Germany's government of failing to "come to terms with the nationwide unity of the people of our country these days."

Zakharova added that she agreed with Berlin that there was "nothing surprising in the voting results of the Russians," saying, "Especially after NATO barks at our country several times a day, threatens it, ignites conflicts along the perimeter of our borders and in the world as a whole, collects money and weapons to inflict 'strategic defeat' on Russia."

"It's not surprising that the whole country united and fought back," she wrote.

Zakharova also took a shot at British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps, who said on Monday that Putin was behaving like "a modern-day" Joseph Stalin and that the Kremlin leader "stole the election again, but he won't steal Ukraine."

"We didn't steal anything from them," Zakharova wrote on Telegram.

"By the way, what's going on with Kate Middleton?" the Kremlin spokeswoman quipped. Speculation over the whereabouts of the Princess of Wales has been growing in recent weeks.

Newsweek reached out to the U.S. State Department via email for comment late Monday night.

Following his win on Monday, Putin spoke at an event in Moscow and touted his plans for the future of the war in Ukraine, including promising to create a "buffer zone" along the front lines that would protect Russian territory from cross-border attacks.

The Kremlin leader was also asked if he believed that Moscow could find itself in a direct conflict with NATO as the war rages on, to which he responded, "Everything is possible in today's world."

Russia's Central Election Commission said on Monday that Putin earned 87 percent of the vote across all precincts, which equals nearly 76 million votes, according to the Associated Press report.

Three other candidates appeared on Russia's ballot this weekend, although none campaigned as critics of Putin. Protests and detainments were also reported at several polling sites, including in occupied Ukrainian territory where the Ukrainian Eastern Human Rights Group claimed that voting took place "literally at gunpoint, when members of election commissions walked from door to door accompanied by military men with weapons."