Vladimir Putin Says He Opposes Mandatory Covid Vaccinations

Asked if Putin supported a new nationwide lockdown, he said regional authorities were instead promoting localised mandatory vaccinations and other measures to avoid introducing new quarantines.

President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday he opposed introducing mandatory vaccinations in Russia despite a surge in coronavirus infections in the country and sluggish inoculation rates. "I do not support mandatory vaccinations," Putin told Russians during his annual phone-in broadcast on television. Asked if he supported a new nationwide lockdown, he said regional authorities were instead promoting localised mandatory vaccinations and other measures to avoid introducing new quarantines. Russia earlier Wednesday reported 669 coronavirus deaths over the past 24 hours, a record number of fatalities for the second day in a row, according to a government tally.