Bosnian Serb leaders meet with Russia's President Vladimir Putin ahead of weekend election in Bosnia

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Bosnian Serb pro-Russian ruling politicians on Tuesday met with Russia's President Vladimir Putin just days ahead of a general election this weekend in Bosnia.

Separatist leader Milorad Dodik and Prime Minister Savo Minic met with Putin in Moscow. Bosnian Serb official RTRS television said they won support from the Russian president for the vote on Sunday.

Bosnia's around 3.4 million voters will choose a multi-ethnic presidency, the central Parliament and the institutions of the two entities. The complex network of institutions was created in a peace agreement that ended Bosnia's 1992-95 war.

Dodik, who is a former Bosnian Serb president, is staunchly pro-Russian and has traveled to Moscow ahead of past elections as well.

Dodik has been banned from holding public office in Bosnia but remains the leader of the governing Alliance of Independent Social Democrats and has dominated the preelection campaign in the Serb-held part of Bosnia.

While a chief Russian ally in the Balkans, Dodik has repeatedly clashed with Western officials overseeing peace in the country. He faced U.S. sanctions during the Biden administration.

The Balkan nation remains ethnically tense and economically weak decades after the end of the war. Bosnia is formally seeking European Union membership but progress has been slow.

Dodik's calls for separation of the Serb entity from Bosnia have sparked fears in the West of renewed instability in the Balkans as the war rages in Ukraine.

War-era tensions ahead of the Oct. 4 election were revived by the public homage among Bosnian Serbs and in Serbia to the wartime army commander Ratko Mladic who died in late August while serving a life sentence for genocide and other war crimes.

Bosnian Serbs view Mladic as a hero despite his conviction by a U.N. court over the massacre of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995, and other atrocities. Key Bosnian Serb officials attended the funeral service for Mladic in Belgrade that sparked harsh EU criticism.

The Bosniaks, who are mainly Muslim, and Croats, together form Bosnia's second entity called the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The ethnic Serb and the Bosniak-Croat entities are bound together by joint central institutions.

The war in 1992 started after Bosnia declared independence from the Serb-led former Yugoslavia and ethnic Serbs took up arms to carve out their own state and join Serbia. More than 100,000 people died in the conflict that displaced millions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, back to camera, as Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov, left, sits beside him during their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking to Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik during their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik attends talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (Sergey Bobylev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Christian Lundgaard will be replacing six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon in the famed No. 9 car for Chip Ganassi Racing.

The team announced Tuesday that the 25-year-old Lundgaard had signed a multiyear deal. He will join Alex Palou and Kyffin Simpson as part of a full-time, three-car lineup for the 2027 season, which opens March 7 at the Streets of St. Petersburg.

“It is an honor and a privilege to join Chip Ganassi Racing beginning next season," Lundgaard said. “The fact that it is in the iconic No. 9 PNC Bank Honda makes it even more special. CGR has set the standard in IndyCar for decades, and the opportunity to be part of that legacy is something I’ve worked toward my entire career. I’m incredibly excited about what’s ahead.”

Lundgaard made his IndyCar debut in 2021, spent his first four seasons with Rahal Letterman Lanigan and won his first race in the series two years later in Toronto. The Danish driver moved to Arrow McLaren for the past two years, winning the road course race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the race at Road America this past season.

Lundgaard also had three second-place finishes and was third in points behind new teammate Palou and Kyle Kirkwood.

The 46-year-old Dixon and Chip Ganassi Racing parted ways after 25 seasons, 59 wins and a victory in the Indianapolis 500. Dixon and reigning Indy 500 champion Felix Rosenqvist will be joining Pato O’Ward at Arrow McLaren for next season.

“We’re looking forward to helping him reach that next level with the No. 9 team,” Chip Ganassi said of Lundgaard. "He’s already proven he can win races, and it isn’t often a driver of his caliber becomes available. Throughout our history, one of the things we’ve done best is identify young talent, help them maximize their potential and develop them into championship contenders.

"We believe Christian has all the talent to be the next driver to do that.”

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FILE - Christian Lundgaard is seen during driver introductions before the IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix auto race in Washington, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)