MOSCOW - Vladimir Putin’s landslide win in a Presidential election gave him six more years in power.

Putin won Russia's presidential election with 87.97% of the vote, according to the first official results on Sunday after polls closed.

The vote has taken place against the backdrop of the harshest crackdown on political opposition and freedom of speech in Russia since Soviet times.

Only three token candidates — and no one who opposes his war in Ukraine — were allowed to run against him as he sought a fifth term.

Russia's Central Election Commission said Putin had 87.97% of the vote with 24.4% of the precincts counted.

Putin hailed the overwhelming early results as an indication of "trust" and "hope" in him - while critics saw them as another reflection of the preordained nature of the election.

"Of course, we have lots of tasks ahead. But I want to make it clear for everyone: When we were consolidated, no one has ever managed to frighten us, to suppress our will and our self-conscience. They failed in the past and they will fail in the future," Putin said at a meeting with volunteers after polls closed.

Speaking on Sunday night, Putin said Russia's priority must be to solve the tasks associated with what he calls Moscow's 'special military operation' in Ukraine and make the army stronger.

Putin said he would do everything he could to solve those tasks and the targets he and his administration consider a priority.

He also warned the presence of Western troops in Ukraine could lead the world to the brink of World War Three, but said he did not think anyone was interested in such a scenario.