Vladimir Putin won 72.3% of votes cast abroad in presidential election

Russian President Vladimir Putin won 72.3 per cent of the votes at polling stations abroad in a March 15-17 election, state-run RIA news agency quoted the electoral commission as saying on Wednesday.

Putin has led Russia as president or prime minister since December 1999. At the end of his fifth term, he would be the longest-serving Russian leader since Catherine the Great, who ruled during the 18th century.

Russians living abroad, including many who have fled Russia since the start of the Ukraine war, were able to vote at Russian embassies and consulates. Official results gave Putin a new six-year term with 87.3 per cent of the total vote.