Trump could speak to Putin about Ukraine next week
The incoming US administration expects a conversation with the Kremlin within days of taking office.
Vladimir Putin
Putin’s empire is crumbling — will 2025 prove to be his 1989?
Failure in Syria and the fall of Assad, endless war in Ukraine, rejection by eastern states, a loss of influence in the global south: this is not how it was meant to be for the Russian leader. And this year it could get worse.
Putin weak but more dangerous
Russia’s folly is pushing its former Soviet satellites further away. The Azerbaijan President is right to have rejected Vladimir Putin’s obfuscation over the shooting down of an airliner.
Putin revives Stalin’s state of informers and snitches
Vladimir Putin has called for ‘scum and traitors’ to be ‘spat out like a gnat’ as part of a necessary self-detoxification of society — and there are many willing volunteers.
Putin still craves respect of West, 25 years on
After initial friendly overtures and talk of democracy, Vladimir Putin’s rule quickly spiralled into stand-offs with the West and increasing political terrors at home.
Azerbaijan plane’s black box sent to Brazil for probe
Brazil manufactures the Embraer plane involved in the crash that killed 38, likely caused by Russian missiles; Vladimir Putin apologises for the tragedy but stops short of acknowledging responsibility.
Putin a problem for all: top brass
The nation’s top military officer in London has warned Russia’s use of North Korean and Iranian forces to destroy democratic Ukraine is ‘everyone’s business’ and said Australia’s role is vital.
Help! I’ve been petty-sacked for coffee-badging
Confused by the blizzard of business buzzwords, acronyms and coinages that came to the fore in 2024? It’s a jargon jungle out there but maybe this can help…
Russia tanker detained after more undersea Baltic cables cut
Finland detained the Russia tanker – part of Putin’s ‘dark fleet’ of sanctions busters amid calls for NATO to defend against growing incidents of sabotage blamed on Moscow.
Biden eyes sanctions on Russia’s ‘dark fleet’ of oil ships
In his last weeks in office, Joe Biden is planning sanctions against Russia’s energy sector, targeting the ships carrying Russian oil around the world and bolstering Vladimir Putin’s war chest.
The good, the fat and the ugly who want to fight in Ukraine
The notion of a prison swap between a forlorn Australian vegan incongruously fighting on the battlefields of the Donbas and a grossly obese, sweaty man holed up in an apartment in Woollahra, claiming diplomatic protection, invites a raft of fat jokes.
Missing journalist Tice ‘alive’ in Syria: US NGO
US group Hostage Aid Worldwide says it has information that Austin Tice, who went missing in Syria in 2012, is still alive, but didn’t offer concrete information on his whereabouts.
‘Prisoner swap or gulag’: Aussie Cossack asks to be exchanged for Jenkins
Simeon Boikov, who is holed up in the Russian embassy in Sydney, tells The Australian he’s ready to be swapped for a Melbourne man captured by Vladimir Putin’s forces in Ukraine.
The global hunt for Putin’s ‘sleeper agents’
A quiet suburban mum, a hard-drinking war correspondent and an Arctic researcher were hiding in plain sight, championed by the Kremlin’s No. 1 fan of spy fiction, Vladimir Putin.
Putin ‘will ask Assad about kidnapped journo Tice’
Speaking at the beginning of his annual marathon press conference, Vladimir Putin insisted Russia hadn’t suffered defeat in Syria and stays bullish on Ukraine.
Kyiv embassy decision is overdue
It is a serious national embarrassment that Australia, alone among Western allies, has been the standout laggard and taken so long to restore our embassy to the Ukrainian capital.
We stand with The Times writers
With its appalling record of killing opponents, the Putin regime’s warning that editorial writers at our sister paper ‘are now legitimate military targets’ must be taken seriously.
Zelensky admits Ukraine cannot retake Crimea and Donbas
The Ukrainian President says it doesn’t ‘have the strength to recover’ the stolen territories, calling for the international community to pressure Putin to come to the negotiating table.
‘Legitimate act’: The Times article that led to Putin ally’s threats
A leader in The London Times about the assassination of a Russian general has led to serious threats from a key Putin ally. This is the article that caused Dmitri Medvedev to describe Times editors as ‘key military targets’.
Putin ally threatens The London Times
Dmitri Medvedev said the ‘entire management team’ of The Times were military targets and warned ‘be careful’ after the paper ran a leader on Ukraine’s assassination of a Russian general.
‘Shadowy force that took my freedom’: Putin’s security state power tracked to sinister spy unit
The secret agency that arrested a Wall Street Journal reporter is leading the biggest campaign of internal repression since the Stalin era.’
Huge blow: Satellite images show Russia preparing to leave Syria
Satellite imagery shows Russian troops preparing to load cargo at Moscow’s main air base in Syria, signalling the early stages of a military withdrawal from the country in a huge blow for Putin.
Billionaire’s court fight over election
UAP leader Ralph Babet will take the Commonwealth to the High Court over what chairman Clive Palmer says are “unconstitutional” election laws.
China, Russia … Israel: Wong on affront foot
Jewish leaders have accused Penny Wong of waging a ‘deeply cynical’ and obsessive campaign against Israel after she compared the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu’s democratic government with those of dictators Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.
Why Assad’s fall is a blow to Putin – and exposes Russia’s weakness
Moscow has downplayed the fall of its biggest ally in the Middle East, but the Kremlin’s credibility has been severely weakened by the war in Ukraine.
Assad’s demise has consequences
The new regime’s links to Islamic State and al-Qa’ida are a major worry, but the weakening of the positions of Russia and Iran is a positive.
Assad’s downfall will reverberate far beyond Syria’s borders
The collapse of Vladimir Putin’s puppet regime in Syria has left allies and rivals wondering if he could throw Bashar al-Assad under the bus for Ukraine, how strong is he really?
Rebel regime takes hold of Syria
The crisis in Damascus threatens Russian and Iranian influence over Syria, and deals a further blow to what remains of Hezbollah.
Cops’ bizarre Putin find in car door
An item printed with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s face has been found in the door cavities of a car during a police search.
Putin must not win in Ukraine
The security of the Western world and all democratic nations would be gravely compromised if Donald Trump fails to see the importance of ensuring that Putin does not win in Ukraine.
Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/topics/vladimir-putin/page/9