Vladimir Putin has won six more years in the Kremlin with a landslide victory in an election where he faced no serious competition. Looking ahead, he faces important challenges.
Challenge: whether to escalate now and when to stop.
Russia controls nearly a fifth of Ukraine, barely changed since late 2022. Putin has not defined territorial goals but his ally Dmitry Medvedev said last month that Russia aimed to bite off much more of Ukraine, including Odesa and eventually Kyiv.