Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny for the first time in public while claiming victory in a managed election for his fifth term in the Kremlin.

“As for Mr. Navalny. Yes, he passed away. This is always a sad event,” Putin said after the polls closed in Russia. “But we’ve had other cases when people passed away in places of detention. Doesn’t this happen in the U.S.? It’s happened more than once.”