Vladimir Putin warns of WW3 if Western troops enter Ukraine as he wins ANOTHER sham election with 87% of vote

VLADIMIR Putin warned of World War 3 as he inevitably secured another term as Russian leader after tearing up a constitution limiting his stay at the Kremlin.

The ageing dictator, 71, will now be in power until at least 2030 after masterminding a sham election to give himself his biggest-ever landslide victory of over 87 per cent.

Putin cruised to an easy victory as he was re-elected with a record 87.33 per cent of the vote - after a turnout of 73 per cent - as he faced token challengers and suppressed opposition voters.

Last night, the brazen ruler gave a "victory speech" just hours after the polls closed as thanked Russians for their "trust" and "support", saying the result would allow Russian society to "become stronger".

The despot once again warned the world could be led to the brink of World War 3 if Western troops enter Ukraine, where Russia's invasion continues to stall over two years in.

He also pledged to "defeat" his foes as a crowd of supporters cheered him on.

Putin said: "We are all one team. No one can suppress us, they will never succeed.

"But we, as one united family, can defeat them.

"And all our goals will be achieved, we will do everything to achieve this."

After nearly a quarter-century of his iron-fist rule, anyone who could have challenged him is either in prison, in exile or dead amid the harshest crackdown on opposition in Russia since Soviet times.

The ballot papers lacked any genuine competition - and Putin's route to the top of the polls was never in doubt.

Just three token candidates were allowed to stand against the dictator - none of which opposed his brutal war in Ukraine.

Putin is now heading into his fifth term at the country's helm with little resistance as he continues to shamelessly stamp out opposition.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron blasted the results today, stating: "These Russian elections starkly underline the depth of repression under President Putin's regime, which seeks to silence any opposition to his illegal war."

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps also accused Vladimir Putin of behaving like “a modern-day Stalin” who "stole" the election.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky branded Putin "sick for power" as his troops continue to fight against Russia's forces.

The war-time leader added: "It is clear to everyone in the world that this figure, as it has already often happened in the course of history, is simply sick for power and is doing everything to rule forever.

"There is no legitimacy in this imitation of elections and there cannot be.

"This person should be on trial in The Hague. That's what we have to ensure."

A White House spokesman said: "The elections are obviously not free nor fair given how Mr. Putin has imprisoned political opponents and prevented others from running against him."

Even with little margin for protest, Russians crowded outside polling stations at noon on Sunday, the last day of the election - to show their dissatisfaction with the shameful elections.

Over the weekend, Putin was enraged to see Russians protesting at by destroying ballots and even throwing petrol bombs at booths.

But the world's despots rushed to praise Vlad on his landslide victory.

Putin is simply sick for power and is doing everything to rule forever

Volodymyr Zelensky

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi was among the first to toast Putin - the longest-serving Russian dictator since Soviet leader Joseph Stalin - on his “decisive” win in the election.

Chinese President Xi Jinping also sent a congratulatory message to Putin, stating that his re-election “fully reflects the support of the Russian people".

Beijing's foreign ministry also hailed the "continuous development of China-Russia relations in the new era".

Close Putin ally Kim Jong-un - who has provided Putin with vast supplies of munitions for the war in Ukraine - sent "congratulations" to Putin via his embassy in Russia this morning.

Russia's constitution states presidents can serve no more than two consecutive six-year terms.

But in 2020, power-hungry Vlad orchestrated an amendment exempting himself from presidential term limits until 2036 - by which time he'll be 83.

Beyond the fact that voters had virtually no choice, independent monitoring of the election was extremely limited.

Putin's victory was declared just hours after the polls closed based on early vote returns, with official final results to be released in a few days after all papers are counted.

For the first time, polling stations were open for three days instead of one and online voting was an option in 27 Russian regions and Crimea, which was illegally seized by Putin a decade ago.

Putin also opened up voting in annexed Ukrainian regions Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson - despite Russian forces not fully controlling them.

In the occupied Donetsk, where the election is illegal, he won 95.23 per cent of the vote, while he picked up 95 per cent of ballots in Luhansk.

Experts said tactics such as extending the vote over several days and allowing online balloting added to the lack of transparency.

Opposition groups previously said digital voting in parliamentary elections showed signs of manipulation.

Helped by more than eight million votes placed online, Putin's victory margin surpassed his highest in four previous elections.

Around 75 citizens were arrested on Sunday amid the "noon against Putin" protests called for by Alexei Navalny before his death last month.

His hope was that Russians would show up nationwide at midday and spoil their ballots, or vote for another candidate, drawing attention to widespread discontent.

His wife Yulia echoed his calls for the brave movement, joining throngs of protestors in Berlin herself to do the same thing at Berlin's Russian embassy yesterday.

As she took to the streets many cheered, she paused to take pictures with the crowds and teared up as she revealed she wrote her dead husband's name on the ballot.

In Russian embassies across the world where Putin's rule is weaker, people were able to rise up even more defiantly when going to vote.

They turned out in huge numbers and some brandished banners reading messages like "He is not a president & this is not an election".

A blood-red sign in Georgia read: "Enough Putin. Lies, War, Repressions."

And a huge effigy in Berlin showed the despot in a bathtub, painted in Ukrainian colours, washing himself with blood.

There was also chaos at some polling boots as one woman was reportedly arrested in Moscow for pouring litres of paint into a ballot box.

More footage showed a woman slip her ballot into a box before pouring green liquid over the completed forms inside.

Millions of eyes in Russia - and around the world - will now turn to Putin's plan for his next term, with an immediate goal to seize victory in Ukraine.

And despite boasting of Russian battlefield successes in the run-up to the election, Ukraine's barrage of drone attacks across Russia this week has been its biggest yet.

But experts fear if Putin - the longest-serving Russian dictator since Soviet leader Josef Stalin - does see success in Ukraine, bloodshed could spill into Europe.

Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon said he could be eyeing up an attack on Europe.

He told The Sun: "I think he is doing all he can at the moment [in Ukraine].

"He is throwing everything into the 'meat grinder' hoping to outlast Western support, which is likely to wain at the end of the year.

"If Putin succeeds in Ukraine he will go to war with the West.

"He will attack Latvia and Lithuania first - and they are both Nato."

In a speech just two weeks before his all but certain re-election, Putin warned the West is in danger of being nuked.

In his more than two-hour-long diatribe, sniffling Putin accused the West of trying to "destroy" Russia as he vowed to fulfil Moscow's goals in Ukraine.

He also lashed out at the US, claiming it is trying to defeat Russia and "drag us into an arms race".

He insisted that western Russia must be "properly protected" after Nato welcomed Sweden and Finland into the military alliance.

The rambling tyrant claimed Nato forces are "preparing to strike out territory".

But he insisted in his venom-filled speech the consequences for "potential invaders" would be "much more tragic".

In a thinly veiled threat, Putin warned the West was in "danger of nuclear conflict" if they sent troops to Ukraine.

Colonel de Bretton-Gordon believes Putin's sabre-rattling is nothing more than empty threats when it comes to nuclear warfare.

He said: "Putin will never go for Armageddon as that would be the end of his dream for a greater Russia.

"He is massive on legacy, hence he doesn't want to destroy the planet.

"But he is a master strategist when it comes to manipulating the West's weaker leaders.

"He is bluffing on nukes and the sooner we realise this, the better."