White House: Russian President Vladimir Putin's election to fifth term was 'preordained'

WASHINGTON – The White House said Monday the outcome of Russia’s presidential election was “preordained” and that nothing about the process that handed Vladimir Putin a fifth term in office was “free or fair.”

“Nothing about the election outcome was unpredictable,” said Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser.

Sullivan noted Putin had locked up his political opponents and that some had died tragic deaths ahead of this week’s elections. Most prominently, opposition leader Alexei Navalny died last month at an Arctic Circle prison camp.

Still, Putin is Russia’s president, and the U.S. is prepared for another six years of fraught relations, Sullivan said.

“We’ve had to deal with that reality throughout the war in Ukraine, throughout the other aggression Russia has undertaken, throughout the other steps contrary to U.S. national interests that we have seen from this president and from the Russian federation under his leadership,” Sullivan said.

But, “that reality doesn't deny the fact that this election was not something that met any kind of benchmark of being free or fair,” he said.

Putin gets fifth term: Russia leader declared winner in vote with no credible opposition

Russia's Central Election Commission said Monday that Putin, the country's longest-serving leader since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, had won by a landslide in an election in which he faced no credible opposition and cracked down on free speech.

With nearly 100% of all precincts counted, Putin received 87.29% of the vote, Central Election Commission chief Ella Pamfilova said. Nearly 76 million voters cast their ballots for Putin, his highest vote tally ever, Pamfilova said.

Putin hailed the results as a clear indication of Russia's "trust" and "hope" in him. But his many critics saw them as another illustration of the preordained nature of the election.

Putin's fiercest political foe, Navalny, died in an Arctic prison last month. Other Putin opponents are either in jail or in exile.

Michael Collins covers the White House. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @mcollinsNEWS.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Russian election: White House says Putin's victory was 'preordained'