Putin refuses to congratulate new Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky

Russian president Vladimir Putin has refused to congratulate Ukrainian president-elect Volodymyr Zelensky on his landslide election.

Speaking with journalists on Monday afternoon, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was “too early” to talk about a phone call to Mr. Zelensky.

Russia would only open the doors of cooperation after judging “concrete actions” of the new president.

“We respect the Ukrainian elections, more so that the verdict was very clear,” he said. “But the legitimacy of these elections is still under question given that 3.5 million people were unable to vote.” 

Mr Peskov was referring to the estimated populations living in eastern Ukraine’s conflict zone and under the control of Russian-backed armed formations.