Putin: Gatecrashed?

Author

Global Recap
December 13, 2025 • Read in: 9 minutes

Hi Global Recap readers,

The video below has since been deleted after the outlet said it may have “misrepresented the events.”

Adding to the awkwardness: the outlet that published it is funded by the Russian state. 😬

🇵🇰 PAKISTAN
PM "Crashes"
Putin Meeting

Sharif waiting

Sharif supposedly gatecrashing

Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz Sharif supposedly gatecrashed a meeting between Russian President Putin and Turkish President Erdogan in Turkmenistan after being left waiting for over 40 minutes.

  • Scene: On December 12, 2025, Sharif was in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, attending a summit marking 30 years of the country’s permanent neutrality alongside leaders from Russia, Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan.

  • Delay: Putin’s scheduled bilateral with Turkey’s Erdogan ran over by more than 40 minutes, leaving Sharif waiting in an adjoining room with Deputy PM Ishaq Dar.

  • Video: Footage shared by RT India (an org. funded by the Russian state) appeared to show Sharif entering what was framed online as a "closed-door Putin-Erdogan meeting," staying for 10 minutes, then leaving. Many online are accusing Sharif of desperation and diplomatic embarrassment. Here are some examples:

    • "He didn’t gatecrash, he was just checking if Erdogan had any spare change for the IMF installment due next week."

    • "He is just there to beg. Pakistan is associated with openly begging for money and aid."

However, hours later, RT India deleted the clip, admitting it may have "misrepresented" events, while Pakistani media reported Sharif did interact with both Putin and Erdogan on bilateral and regional issues.
Click for post

  • Correction: This has left people questioning what exactly was "misrepresented."

    • Did the footage imply Putin deliberately shut him out?

    • Did it suggest hostility that wasn’t there?

    • All the outlets reporting it seem to confirm that the delay was real.

  • Official: Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti said Putin and Erdogan kept talking privately after both delegations cleared out, with no mention of Sharif "gatecrashing."

📌 Context: Sharif has been trying to deepen ties with Moscow, even as Putin has appeared noticeably warmer toward India (see his recent New Delhi visit).

And of course, India and Pakistan have been militarily clashing more openly of late (most notably in repeated cross-border artillery and drone incidents along the Line of Control in Kashmir).

🇦🇺 AUSTRALIA
Speaking of Awkwardness:

Awkward moment where a teenage student tells PM Albanese that the ban is a bad idea because people are going to find an "alternative anyways." Albanese counters by saying those methods would be found out.
Click for video

Then, Albanese posted this interaction on social media as if this was a positive interaction.
Click for post

Reddit just filed a lawsuit in Australia’s top court to overturn the country’s new under-16 social media ban, calling it an attack on speech and civic participation via a blunt ban.

  • Law: The rule took effect this week and forces 10 major platforms to block anyone under 16 from holding and creating an account, making Australia the first country to attempt a nationwide youth social media prohibition.

  • Claim: Reddit argues the policy barely reduces harm while cutting teenagers out of political discussion years before they can vote, a point it framed as a free speech issue rather than a tech compliance gripe.

  • Court: The lawsuit was filed Friday in Australia’s High Court, setting up a long legal fight with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government, which has said the law gives parents leverage and protects teens.

  • Scope: Reddit says it should not even qualify as an age-restricted platform since most content remains visible without an account, even though posting, voting, and commenting are locked behind login.

  • Allies: Meta joined the criticism, warning the ban could push teens toward smaller, less regulated apps and arguing that parental approval tools would work better.

🇺🇦 UKRAINE
Zelenskyy Goes Front Line

President Zelenskyy just showed up near active fighting on the front line to debunk Russian claims. You can even hear the artillery going off in the background. 👆🏼

  • Visit: On December 12, 2025, President Zelenskyy traveled to Kupiansk in northeastern Ukraine, less than two miles from Russian positions, a city Moscow had claimed to have captured.

  • Message: Zelenskyy filmed himself beside the bullet-scarred city sign, saying that "the stronger our defense on the front line, the stronger our positions will be in negotiations."

  • Timing: The trip came as the U.S. pressed Ukraine and Russia toward a possible peace framework, with territory the most contentious issue.

  • Dispute: Ukraine continues to reject formally recognizing any occupied land as Russian, though U.S. officials have floated ideas like demilitarized zones as workarounds.

  • Reality: Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War say Russian claims of sweeping advances often overstate battlefield conditions, even as Moscow has expanded its occupied area this year.

📌 Context: Kupiansk sits in the Kharkiv region, a logistics hub Ukraine recaptured in 2022 and now defends as Ukraine and Russia both enter the war's next phase: negotiations and winter.

🇰🇭🇹🇭 CAMBODIA & THAILAND
Ceasefire That Wasn’t

Despite President Trump announcing that Thailand and Cambodia have agreed on a ceasefire (again), the two sides were still firing at each other hours later.

  • Claim: Trump said both governments told him on Friday night they would halt fire and return to an October agreement brokered by the U.S. and Malaysia.

  • Rebuttal: Thai PM Charnvirakul publicly pushed back, saying Thailand would only stop once Cambodian forces withdrew and landmines were cleared. "They must show us first," he said.

  • Reality: Shelling continued overnight along the border. Meanwhile, Cambodia reported new Thai air strikes on Saturday.

  • Cost: At least 21 people have been killed since the fighting restarted, with roughly 700,000 civilians evacuated from border provinces on both sides.

  • History: The clash traces to a century-old border dispute drawn by French colonial maps in 1907, with both militaries trading accusations over who fired first.

📌 Context: Thailand and Cambodia agreed to an "immediate and unconditional ceasefire" in late July, later formalized in October, after days of deadly clashes, but mutual claims of violations, including alleged landmine use, have steadily eroded that truce.