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Vladimir Putin loves a parade. And under his rule, the annual Victory Day commemoration has become a core ritual and display of Russia’s military might.
But this year’s May 9 event, which marks the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, will be a somewhat muted affair. There will be fewer visiting dignitaries attending and, for the first time in 20 years, no lavish displays of tanks and missiles.
The Kremlin blames fears over Ukrainian “terrorism.” But the fact that not all is going Putin’s way in the war means there is less victory for him to celebrate in any case. “The reality for Putin is that the war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year, continues to be a grueling drain on Russian men, its economy and resources – and may continue to be for some time,” writes Lena Surzhko Harned, an expert on post-Soviet states. She cites the approval of a $106 billion EU loan, and the associated removal of Putin’s main ally in the bloc, Hungary’s Viktor Orban, as major setbacks for the Kremlin. In a seperate article, former diplomat Jon Richardson notes that on the frontlines,
too, Ukraine is having some success of late, pushing back Russian troops, regaining territory and expanding its ability to hit targets inside Russia.
Elsewhere this week we have been asking why cruise ships are so prone to disease outbreaks and saluting Sir David Attenborough, who celebrates his 100th birthday today.
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Matt Williams
Senior International Editor – New York
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A police boat patrols the waters of the Moskva River near Red Square, which is decorated for the celebration of the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko
Lena Surzhko Harned, Penn State
Moscow’s influence is Eastern Europe has been slipping of late, including with the loss of a stalwart ally in Hungary. The battleground, as ever, remains Ukraine.
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An Iranian walks next to a mural painted on a wall in Tehran, Iran, on May 4.
Abedin Taherkenareh / EPA
Christian Emery, UCL
This conflict is fast becoming a catestrophic US failure which could define Trump’s second presidency.
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lara-sh/Shutterstock.com
Vikram Niranjan, University of Limerick
An epidemiologist explains why germs spread so easily on cruise ships, and how to stay safe on holiday.
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BBC
Euan Ritchie, Deakin University
David Attenborough has captured and told the stories of nature to millions of people – and inspired scientists and conservationists the world over.
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Guilherme Casarões, Florida International University
Bilateral meeting between both presidents sent a clear signal to Lula’s domestic audience: the relationship with Washington is not broken, and it does not require a Bolsonaro to fix it.
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Gemma Ware, The Conversation
Economist Jiao Wang talks to The Conversation Weekly podcast about the way China has diversified its export markets away from the west.
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Julian Koplin, Monash University; The University of Melbourne; Megan Frances Moss, Monash University
There are good reasons why we see AI chatbots as more than what they truly are.
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Amra Lee, Australian National University
This is driven by an absence of legal accountability for attacks on civilians, aid workers and journalists in both Lebanon and Gaza.
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Margena A. Christian, University of Illinois Chicago
Few people probably know the female songwriters featured in this article, yet Motown relied heavily upon their contributions to cement its place in music history.
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Michael J. Socolow, University of Maine
The profusion of video access to anywhere on earth, at any time of day or night, was unimaginable before Turner’s work to make CNN conceivable and then real.
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