Putin and Zelenskyy congratulate Azerbaijan's Aliyev for his election win after retaking Karabakh

The Ukrainian and Russian presidents have congratulated Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev after his expected landslide election win

BAKU, Azerbaijan -- The Ukrainian and Russian presidents congratulated Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev after his expected landslide win as preliminary results released Thursday indicated his resounding victory in the presidential election held the day before.

Aliyev had called an early vote just months after his forces swiftly reclaimed the Karabakh region from ethnic Armenian separatists who had controlled it for three decades. He is now heading into another, seven-year term in office.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Aliyev and the two spoke about continuing their “strategic partnerships,” according to the Azeri leader's press service.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted his congratulations on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying that he appreciated Azerbaijan’s humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and valued the “mutual support for our states’ sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

With just over 93% of the ballots counted, Aliyev secured more than 92% of the votes, the head of the Central Election Commission, Mazahir Panahov, said early Thursday. His three main challengers trailed far behind and conceded the race, congratulating Aliyev, the Interfax Azerbaijan news agency reported.