
The Take: 25 years of Putin, what can we expect next?
How has Russia's leader maintained his longevity – and how has it shaped the world?
Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrates 25 years in power this week, along with a Victory Day parade to celebrate the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in 1945, which will be attended by leaders from around the world. We chart Putin's rise to power, how his worldview has changed and what we can expect from him next.
In this episode:
Mikhail Zygar (@zygaro), writer and author
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Amy Walters, Sonia Bhagat and Ashish Malhotra, with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Khaled Soltan, Khaled Soltan, Kingwell Ma, Remas Al Hawari, Mariana Navarette, Kisaa Zehra and our guest host, Natasha Del Toro. It was edited by Sarí el-Khalili.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad Al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take's executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.
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Qatar Tribune
7 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Israeli attacks kill 27 aid seekers in Gaza, says health ministry
Agencies Gaza Israeli forces have killed at least 27 Palestinians and injured 90 more as they opened fire close to an aid distribution site in Rafah, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. The latest killings came early on Tuesday at the Flag Roundabout, near an aid hub operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). It was the third such incident around the Rafah hub in as many days. Gaza's authorities report that more than 100 aid seekers have been killed since the United States- and Israel-backed GHF started operating in the enclave on May 27, with reports of violence, looting and chaos rife. The Israeli military said it had fired shots as 'a number of suspects' deviated from the regulated routes, on which a crowd was making its way to the GHF distribution complex. The 'suspects' were about 500 metres (approximately 550 yards) from the site, the military said in a statement on Telegram, adding that it was looking into reports of casualties. The death toll was confirmed by Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Gaza Health Ministry's records department. A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross, Hisham Mhanna, said 184 wounded people had been taken to its field hospital in Rafah, 19 of whom were found dead on arrival, and eight others died later of their wounds. Video verified by Al Jazeera's Sanad fact-checking agency showed the arrival of dozens of injured people at the hospital. Gaza's Government Media Office accused Israel of 'a horrific, intentionally repeated crime', saying it has been luring starving Palestinians to the GHF centres – controversially opened following an 11-week total blockade to take over most aid distribution from the United Nations and other aid agencies – and then opening fire. It said Tuesday's death toll brought the number of aid seekers killed at aid sites in the Rafah governorate and the so-called Netzarim Corridor since GHF launched operations to 102, with 490 others injured. The United Nations on Monday demanded an independent investigation into the repeated mass shootings of aid seekers in Gaza. 'It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food,' said Secretary General Antonio Guterres. 'I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable.' 'We heard from witnesses that there was chaos,' said Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary, reporting about Tuesday's killings from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza. 'The Israeli forces just opened fire randomly, shooting Palestinians … using quadcopters and live ammunition.' Health Ministry officials and doctors said most of the wounded have been hit in their chest and head, she added. The bloodshed, she continued, had unfolded in the same way as on the previous two days, amid ongoing chaos around the aid distribution centres. 'There's no process. There's no system,' she said. 'You just need to run first to be able to get the food.' Rasha al-Nahal told The Associated Press news agency that 'there was gunfire from all directions', and that she saw more than a dozen people dead and several wounded on the road. When she finally made it to the distribution hub, there was no aid, al-Nahal said, adding that Israeli troops 'fired at us as we were returning'. Another witness, Neima al-Aaraj, from Khan Younis, described the shooting as 'indiscriminate'. 'I won't return,' she said. 'Either way, we will die.' The Israeli military, in its statement on Telegram, said troops had fired warning shots as people deviated from 'designated access routes' and 'after the suspects failed to retreat, additional shots were directed near a few individual suspects who advanced toward the troops'. However, it denied firing on civilians or blocking them from accessing aid. This account echoes statements around similar incidents on Sunday, when 31 aid seekers were reportedly killed, and on Monday, when three more were killed.


Al Jazeera
13 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
De-escalating to escalate: Ceasefire is no longer on the horizon in Ukraine
For a while now, the Ukraine-Russia war has been compared by various pundits to the Korean War of the early 1950s. That conflict, which split the Korean Peninsula in two, ended without a clear victor. Hostilities ceased with the signing of an armistice in 1953, but no formal peace treaty ever followed. The Korean Peninsula remains technically at war, suspended in an uneasy truce and still divided along the 38th parallel. Could Ukraine be heading toward a similar outcome? In many respects, today's deadlock echoes the dynamics of the Korean War. North Korea relied on support from China and the Soviet Union, while South Korea was backed by a United States-led coalition. Following a series of offensives and counteroffensives, the conflict slowed down to a war of attrition, which dragged out the negotiation of a ceasefire for two years. Today, Russia, bolstered by China's backing, is fighting in Ukraine, whose army is sustained by its Western allies. In the past year, the conflict has slowed down, and the map of the front line no longer sees dramatic changes. But unlike in the Korean War, the prospects of a ceasefire here appear slim after three years of fighting. The diplomatic and pressure politics offensive by US President Donald Trump to force the two sides to put down their weapons has borne no fruit. Both sides talk about ceasefire, but act as if they want the war to continue. On Sunday, a fresh dose of fuel was poured into the fire. Ukraine launched a series of precise, destructive, and strategically painful strikes against Russian military airfields. The damage inflicted reportedly amounts to $7bn. Forty-one aircraft — about one-third of Russia's strategic bomber fleet — were hit. In parallel, two bridges collapsed in two Russian regions bordering Ukraine, derailing trains; the local authorities said they suspected sabotage. A week before that, Russia sent a swarm of more than 900 drones and dozens of missiles – killing at least 16 civilians, including three children – across Ukraine. On Monday, the Russian army sent a barrage of missiles deep into Ukrainian territory, hitting a training camp for soldiers and killing 12. The timing of these attacks appears to have been deliberately chosen. They came just ahead of the latest stage of peace talks — raising questions about whether such gestures are intended to strengthen each side's negotiating position or derail the process altogether. It is not the first time that the two sides have stepped up attacks when talks have come up. Last year, precisely as Moscow and Kyiv were about to start negotiating a partial ceasefire, Ukraine launched its incursion into Kursk. The efforts to bring the two sides to the negotiating table fell through. This time, Russia chose to downplay Sunday's explosions deep inside its territory. The Russian Defence Ministry grudgingly acknowledged that 'several units of aircraft caught fire', but made no overt threat of retaliation. Rather than lodging a formal protest, Russian delegation members proceeded to Istanbul for negotiations with their Ukrainian counterparts. On Monday, the two sides met and managed to reach agreement on two issues: a prisoner exchange of at least 1,000 soldiers each, and the possible return of 10 abducted Ukrainian children by the Russian authorities. There was no progress on a ceasefire agreement. It was clear that neither Moscow nor Kyiv was ready for serious talks. The leadership in both capitals has its reasons for avoiding the order to put down weapons. Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown, time and again, that he will not allow others to dictate terms to him; he prefers to set them himself. As the principal architect of this war, he is getting everything he wants: expanding political influence, territorial gains, and a drawn-out conflict that bolsters his image at home. He seems ready to torment Ukraine for as long as either it — or he — survives. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, for his part, is not the kind of man to yield or retreat. Setting aside his courage and stubbornness, it's clear the war has given him what peace never could: enduring popularity, a steady flow of international aid, and a firm grip on power. If Ukrainians see a truce concluded with Russia as a form of capitulation, Zelensky's presidency might not last months — perhaps not even weeks. That danger weighs heavy on him. Meanwhile, the West seems willing to supply resources to continue the war effort, which is giving Kyiv more confidence. On June 3, the Ukrainian army struck the Kerch Bridge in Crimea — a structure constructed by Russia after its illegal annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula. The bridge is both a symbol of Putin's imperial ambition and a strategic artery linking Russia to occupied Crimea. An attack on it is certain to provoke a response. What form that response will take, we will likely know very soon. Ukraine's gamble on Western backing has raised the stakes. The war may be entering a new, more dangerous phase: one defined not by front lines, but by symbolic attacks and overwhelming retaliation. For many ordinary Ukrainians, the fragile hope that the fighting can come to a stop has given way to a grim sense that the war will drag on for months, if not years. Among us are optimists who firmly believe that Ukraine will ultimately prevail. At the other end are pessimists who argue that defeating an enemy vastly superior in size, military power, and enormous revenues from hydrocarbon sales is simply impossible. Politics and war are not about fairness, justice, or morality. War feeds on human lives. It endures as long as leaders turn a blind eye to the suffering of their people. At present, there is no sign that the Ukrainian and Russian leaderships are ready for compromise. And that does not bode well for the ordinary Ukrainians who bear the brunt of this war. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial stance.


Al Jazeera
14 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Ukraine claims to have damaged Russia's bridge to annexed Crimea
Ukraine's SBU security service has said it has hit the road and rail bridge linking Russia and Ukraine's annexed Crimean peninsula below the water level with explosives, in its third attack on the key supply line for Russian forces in the war-torn country. About 1,100kg (2,420 pounds) of explosives were detonated on Tuesday morning to destroy underwater pillars of the bridge over the Kerch Strait in an operation prepared over several months, the SBU statement said. 'Previously, we hit the Crimean Bridge twice, in 2022 and 2023. So today we continued this tradition underwater,' it said. 'The bridge is now effectively in an emergency condition.' The SBU shared video footage that claimed to show an explosion next to one of the many support pillars of the bridge. Russian military bloggers said the attack had been unsuccessful and speculated that it had been carried out by a Ukrainian sea drone. The official Russian outlet providing regular status updates on the bridge said its operation had been suspended for about three hours between 4am and 7am local time (01:00 and 04:00 GMT). It gave no reason for the temporary closure but said the bridge had been reopened and was functioning as normal. The 19km (12-mile) Crimea Bridge over the Kerch Strait is the only direct link between the transport network of Russia and the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. The bridge was a flagship project for Russian President Vladimir Putin. It consists of a separate roadway and railway, both supported by concrete stilts, which give way to a wider span held by steel arches at the point where ships pass between the Black Sea and the smaller Azov Sea. The bridge was used by Russian forces during their invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, when they crossed it to reach Crimea and from there went on to seize parts of Ukraine's southern Kherson and southeastern Zaporizhia regions. The attack comes as Russian forces targeted the Ukrainian city of Sumy, killing at least three people and leaving many injured, the city council and the Ministry of Health said. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at least one rocket fired from a multiple rocket launcher had failed to detonate and lodged itself in an apartment building. Commenting on the attack, Zelenskyy said on his Telegram channel: 'That's all one needs to know about the Russian wish to end this war.' On Monday, Russia told Ukraine at peace talks in Istanbul it would only agree to end the war if Kyiv gives up big new chunks of territory and accepts limits on the size of its army. Ukraine has repeatedly rejected the Russian conditions as tantamount to surrender.