taking shape around the world and how we can all make a difference. knowledge grows through sharing. download it now for free. with. ah ah, this is dw news live from berlin. the last leader of the soviet union, mikhail gorbachev is dead known for promoting openness and democracy in the communist state. gorbachev was also credited for helping to end the cold war. we look at his legacy at home and abroad. tributes are being paid around the world,

including from germany's chancellor, while our sites are thinking of mikhail gorbachev and know how important he has been for the development of europe and our country as well in recent years. also coming off a team of international inspectors heads to these upper region nuclear power plants in ukraine as it comes as fears grow over a radiation leak or potential accident at the site which is occupied by russian forces. ah, i manuscripts mckennan, thanks for joining us. the soviet leader who helped end the cold war mikhail gorbachev has died at the age of 91. gorbachev introduced policies that encouraged openness and reform within the communist bloc and forged warmer ty is with the west . now this ultimately brought down the iron curtain that had divided europe since

1945 and put germany on track to re unification. but while often hailed as a hero in the west, at home, his legacy is complicated. dorothea, yahoo mikhail gorbachev. first speech as leader of the soviet union, it was clear he was a stark contrast to his predecessors. we had for you was the worst of robin peace. and freedom is the most. am your ultima basic right of each individual for our to libya. gorbachev wanted to change the soviet union to bring it closer to the people. he promoted glasnost openness and perestroika reforms to words that will forever be associated with him. his new outlook was popular with many his policies also applied to the military. despite the resistance of soviet generals,

which it was you, severe thoughtfulness, i'm convinced that we will also have to reform our military. we have far too many weapons law safely. we have to seek dialogue with other superpowers and reduce our arsenals to a reasonable extent. in that yourself as a result of that dialogue gorbachev and u. s. president reagan signed the 1st of many disarmament treaties in 1987. it was the beginning of the end of the cold war in october 1989 when he visited east berlin for the g d r's, 40th anniversary celebrations. gorbachev urged eric hanukkah to implement reforms. he warned the eastern leader saying, life punishes those who come to late a month after his visit. the berlin wall fell and with it,

the iron curtain that had divided europe for decades. it was gorbachev's, reformist, policies that helped unleash a peaceful revolution across eastern europe. in 1990 gorbachev was awarded the nobel peace prize for his key role in bringing about a new peaceful world order. internationally, he was highly regarded but at home he was increasingly under pressure. the economic situation was dire. the soviet union on the verge of falling apart, communist hardliner stage, a coup against gorbachev in august 1991. at the end of that year, mikhail gorbachev announced his resignation and the soviet union was dissolved with many russians holding him responsible for its demise.

this is what german chancellor will i shall, it's had to say on the passing of the last soviet leda bisson, desert minutes had to stall. we know that he died at a time when not only democracy, he has failed in russia. you cannot describe the current situation there in any other way above 5. but as russia and russian president, putin has created fresh divisions in europe, settled and begun a terrible war against its neighbor ukraine. and because of that, we are thinking of me had gorbachev, isn't. and know how important he has been for the development of europe and our country as well in recent years, young and we can speak now to our chief political correspondent, melinda crane. he joins me here in the studio. melinda, if we can start from the german perspective and tell us just how key was mccallegh gorbachev to this country 3 in a vacation? absolutely key german reunification wasn't a goal that he set out to accomplish. neither was dismembering the soviet union,

but he was prepared to accept both of those developments as the unintended consequences of the forces that he set in motion as a verdict of history as it was. and we heard in the report, his famous quote about history, that was a statement he made in october 1989, one month before the berlin wall fell, in which he said, you get into trouble if you don't deal with what history hands to you. and in fact, his way of dealing with the fall of the berlin wall, a month later, was restraint. he kept soviet troops in their barracks, and that, of course, allowed that historic development to take place without violence. he agreed to withdraw soviet troops back to the soviet union, again, a something that was viewed as nothing short of a wonder at that time. i remember reporting on it in one of my very 1st reports as a young t v journalist, restraint and political reality were 2 characteristics that he emphasized in

a historic speech to the european council. in the fateful summer of 1989. when he talked about a europe whole and free, and a common european house, something that we still though terms we still use to day. but the fact is that that house has been badly, badly shaken by the events now since february. absolutely. now in his tribute took over trav chance las charlotte spoke about the war in ukraine. what was gorbachev the attitude to the war that's happening right now? well, he had been promised by the u. s. secretary of state james baker. as the negotiations about german unification were taking place that nato would not that i quote, come one inch closer to russian soil. and he was frustrated and angry that that pledge was not fulfilled. he often worried about a potential war between russia and the west, and he criticized germany and the west in various books that he wrote. essentially

saying russia was frequently scape goaded, but would he have resorted to violence? i think certainly not. he was a fervent advocate of disarmament. as we saw in the report he had been under pressure when the soviet union was falling apart to use force to hold it together. can absolutely refuse saying in a nuclear armed country and armed to the teeth that would lead to chaos. and on a personal note, he himself had never served in the military, he always kept a distance to military matters and he had ukrainian blood. his grandparents were ukrainian, the countries are so length melinda crane. thank you so much. now other leaders have also made tributes to gorbachev. china has praised him for improving ties between beijing and moscow. in the 1980s in the 1990 s u n. chief antonio terrace said he was deeply saddened by gorbachev passing and described him as a one of a kind statesman who changed the course of history. european commission,

president or sla fun. the lion said gorbachev's crucial role and bringing down the iron curtain opened the way for a free europe. and the foundation of then you, as president ronald reagan tweeted, the gorbachev was once a man was a man who was once a political adversary, but who ended up becoming a friend. now, in russia, it was a different tone, the kremlin hailed gorbachev as a great statesman said that he had romanticized prospects. the cordial relations with the west government spokesperson dmitri pascall said the relationship between the soviet union and the west had not works out due to what he called the west's bloodthirsty in us. and we can cross now to reagan lapierre. weddies uri rossetto is standing by hearing russians have a more mixed view of mikhail gorbachev. don't they? can you tell us about that? well, mikhail gorbachev was arguably the most courageous politician of the 20th century.

he was able to change history to break apart something seemingly unbreakable, at the soviet union. mister garbage was also responsible for over a month ago, for a period of very difficult political reforms before the collapse of the soviet union. and i, it took russia a long time to overcome the economic crisis and poverty of the early, early ninety's. so many people in the, that pu russia came to feel that gorbachev through forums, glasnost and striker, were not enough to provide them with a dignified life. still mikhail gorbachev st. legacy after the collapse of this, of you to noon a collapse that he is. rous gerstner associated with a difficult one. and nowadays, more than a quarter century after the fall of the iron cart, many people in russia say they feel betrayed by gorbachev. and more generally that if you betrayed by the west, can you tell us a little bit about the relationship between gorbachev and vladimir putin

it was a very difficult relationship, and gorbachev supported like they put in many, many times. ah, he agreed with his policy ukraine. but he didn't agree reportedly with ludovic or that it may put his war in ukraine. and what about in former soviet countries like let me away you are, how is a gorbachev regarded there? when when mikhail gorbachev came to power, as the soviet union was an agent country, a con, economy was in shambles. there war ethnic conflicts, cooking up in parks of the country. a bunch of new this of yet union needed reforms are glass and it said perestroika openness and restructuring was the instruments used to try and save the country, but with their newly one freedom of expression, especially of the baltic states were pushing for independence. ah, yeah. gorbachev created the atmosphere for independence to blossom in the baltics.

and i think many people here appreciate that. on the other hand, he did try and suppress protests. in lithuania, a foot 14 people were killed and at least $700.00 people were injured. lithuanians put up as strong resistance that gorbachev had not counted on. and of course, and got much of as a symbol of the soviet union, which also means that the time of the soviet occupation as this time is called here . so to summarize, i think the view people have on gorbachev here is very, very mixed. it up is iraq. rosetta enrica, thank to ukraine. now where united nations nuclear experts have left the capital keys for the occupied power plant near parisha, the team will assess the condition of the facility in any danger that nearby fighting could pose for europe largest nuclear power station,

lead investigator rafael grossi, toll journalists, the un experts hoped to help stabilize the situation at the plant has been occupied by russian troops since march and has repeatedly been shelled both moscow and tease blame each other for the attacks. he w correspondent mathias bellinger isn't jeffery josh. and he told us earlier what the un inspectors are likely to focus on during that visit. there have been selling in our gar for now some weeks. but some of it has it closely to the plan or to electric lines and other important structures near the plant, so they will as, as the damage. that's the 1st thing there will assess how the security systems are working. every power plan has a range of systems that are either need to be activated in cases of security or that protect the power plant and that will ensure the cooling thiefs on. so there cannot be no nuclear meltdown. so this is the 2nd thing they want to do. and the

3rd thing is that they want to talk to the stuff the ukranian start from this power plant and see what they're working conditions are like, and whether this is still sustainable. he does this mathias spelling of that. okay, let's take a look at some of the other stories making headlines. in pakistan, the death toll from catastrophic monsoon flooding continues to rise. authority say more than 1100 people have died since the middle of june. 8 efforts are underway to reach millions of people left stranded and homeless, united nations as appealing for 160000000 euros in emergency funding. iraqi president, bonham seller has called for early elections to settle a political crisis which is triggered some of the deadliest violence in years. at least 30 people have been killed since clashes between rival shiite factions broke

out on monday, influential shiite cleric, mac tuttle sada, has called on his supporters to end their protest. and a truck has plowed into a bus stop in jakarta, killing 10 people. most of them elementary school children, the truck, also down telephone, a telephone pole which crashed into motor bikes and a pickup truck. the driver has been detained by local police. and with that you are up to date businesses up next with robert. i mean, if we can at thank you for watching the w with people and trucks injured when trying to flee the city center. more and more refugees are being turned away at the border. families play involvement tags in syria to be critical illness we learned administrative.