Vladimir Putin blocked the candidacy of his main rival in the 2024 presidential elections

the The Russian Electoral Commission ruled out This Saturday nomination to Presidential elections From journalist and former municipal council member Ekaterina Dontsovawho is fighting for Democracy and the end of the offensive in Ukraine.

The committee claimed “Errors in documents” Russian television indicated that he had been submitted to register the candidacy

Chairman of the Committee, Ella PamfilovaHe announced that the organization had unanimously decided to exclude this forty-year-old woman from running in the elections next March. There is a given President Vladimir Putin's victory is certainHe has been in power since 1999 and is expected to win another six-year term.

Addressing the candidate, Pamfilova declared: “You are a young woman, and you have your life ahead of you.”

Pamfilova explained that a total of 29 people submitted their candidacy files for the presidential elections.

For years now, Russian power has eliminated all serious oppositionThe repression has accelerated since the Kremlin sent its army to Ukraine in February 2022.

Last week, Dontsova received support for a popular initiative to confront Putin in the presidential elections scheduled for March 2024.

Dontsova, 40, received the support of 521 out of more than 700 participants To an independent conference held in Moscow, according to the SOTA portal.

For security reasons, the location of the event was not announced on social media until the last minute. This did not prevent the deployment of police officers in the room where the incident took place.

Representatives of the Central Electoral Commission, to whom the popular initiative will have to submit at least 300,000 signatures before January 25, were also present.

Dontsova announced her election plans in mid-November, saying that the country “in the last ten years has been moving in the wrong direction,” a path that leads to “self-destruction.”

“I want Russia to be a democratic, prosperous and peaceful country”said the journalist and politician, who in 2019 was elected a deputy to the municipal council of the city of Rzhev, in the Tver region, just over 200 kilometers from Moscow.

Among other proposals, it calls for a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine, the introduction of democratic reforms and the release of political prisoners.

Immediately after announcing her ambitions, the journalist was summoned before the prosecution, where she was interrogated about her opinion of the military campaign in the neighboring country.

Furthermore, he reported in early December that VTB Bank had blocked money transfers in his name when he contacted supporters to financially support his campaign.

mother of three children, Dontsova is a native of the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk He holds a degree in law and audiovisual journalism.

The controversial 2020 constitutional reform allows the incumbent president to serve two additional six-year terms, Until 2036.

The opposition to the Kremlin believes that the elections will be a referendum on the current war, in which Russia did not achieve the goals it set in February 2022, and would have cost, according to the West, more than 300,000 deaths.

Russia yesterday Beware of a break in Diplomatic relations With the United States If more effective measures are taken in favor Ukraine In the context of the war that has been going on for almost two years.

“Diplomatic relations in themselves, of course, are not some kind of totem that should be worshiped,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov began by talking about this connection that, for some time, “He's in a coma” With Washington's “erroneous and dangerous” idea that it was necessary to defeat his country “strategically.”

The official noted that among the “triggers” for such a scenario were “confiscation of assets”, “further military escalation” or sending frozen funds to Kiev for reconstruction.

“I'm just saying, to be clear, that we are prepared for any scenario. The United States should not be under the illusion that Russia is clinging with both hands to diplomatic relations with the country,” he added.

He insisted that this is why the Kremlin does not rule out that the relationship will move from the current “almost zero” level to an “official reduction” of the diplomatic presence, or even a “total rupture,” in an attempt to pretend. Washington needs to rethink relations in the context of an “increasingly changing” world order and reach agreements as “the only way out.”

For months, the United States and European partners have been discussing the possibility of allocating all the money confiscated from Russia and its oligarchs—in the form of sanctions for the war offensive—to rebuild Ukraine, which would cost billions of dollars.

Weeks ago, the members of the European Union agreed that Russia would undertake this task, and the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, even announced that they were working on a proposal to raise this amount through the money it would spend. It is already in your possession.

According to data provided by the group, there will be approx $223 billion.

Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Justice, Irina Mudra, added that a tax on these funds or investments will be considered to obtain a greater benefit, as the estimated amount needed to replenish the country so far is close to 400,000 US dollars.

In this regard, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that if such actions occur, there will be “serious consequences” that will affect the global economic situation.

The issue of illegal seizure of our assets is constantly on the agenda of Europe and the United States. He continued: “This issue is unacceptable to us, and is extremely dangerous for the global financial system,” and Russia “will never leave alone” those who intend to implement these measures.

He added: “The Europeans and Americans fully understand this, because this will have legal consequences for those who initiate and implement it. If they confiscate something from us.” We'll see what we can seize in response. If it is found, it is natural to do so immediately. Therefore, these are steps that cannot be taken, and have serious consequences.”

(With information from EFE and Europe Press)