"Record victory" in elections: Putin created the conditions for long occupation of Ukraine - ISW

This was reported by analysts of the Institute of War Study (ISW) in the report for March 18. Analysts say that on Monday, March 18, the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) stated that Putin won the presidential election, scoring 87. 28% of the vote. In addition, the CEC head of Russia Ella Pamphilova claims that there was a record turnover of voters in the elections in the Russian Federation - 77. 44%.

Earlier in the CEC stated that in the presidential elections in Russia in 2018, the turnout of voters amounted to 67. 47%, and Putin won, scoring 76. 67% of the vote. The Russian president and high -ranking officials argued that the record turnout of voters and high "public support" of Putin demonstrated the unity of Russia and trust in Russia. According to the election commission, the head of Russia scored from 88. 12% to 95.

23% of the votes in the temporarily occupied Lugansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Kherson regions and Crimea. Analysts believe that Russian occupation officials have probably falsified "record high support for" Putin on Ukraine. They also probably forced Ukrainian citizens to participate in the elections, which were inherently forced, given the large number of Russian troops operating in the territory of occupied Ukraine.

Later, Putin stated that he did not expect such high elections in the respective territories, and that the results demonstrated that people were "grateful for Russia's protection". Experts suggest that Putin is likely to try to create informational conditions for justifying a long war and occupation of Ukraine under the guise of "protection" of civilians in occupied Ukraine, which is actually "threatened only by the Russian invasion".

We will remind, earlier the representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Andriy Yusov confirmed that mobilization measures in the Russian Federation did not stop, but now it is worth expecting a "new wave of mobilization" after the victory of Putin in the elections.