UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps says Vladimir Putin is behaving like a "modern-day Stalin" as he claims victory in an election in which he stood virtually unopposed.
Writing for The Telegraph, Mr Shapps said the Russian president was "a tyrant the West must stand up to".
"Shockingly, at the end of his next five-year term he will have been in power almost exactly as long as the dictator Joseph Stalin. Putin is behaving like a modern-day Stalin," he wrote.
Mr Shapps said the situation for Ukraine remained "difficult" as Mr Putin grows his war economy, and he accused the Russian president of not giving "a damn" about the losses suffered in his own forces.
The defence secretary reiterated that the UK was committed to supporting Kyiv in the war against Russia for as long as it takes.
"The cost of losing this war to Russia will be far greater than the cost of fighting and winning," he said.
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-russia-war-news-putin-zelenskyy-latest-live-updates-12541713
