Should "that" be removed? Because "Russian President" is the subject, and "has divided" is the verb

Yes. The sentence does not make sense otherwise.

defense / has divided

Should "that" be removed? Because "Russian President" is the subject, and "has divided" is the verb

Putin's strident defense of Assad sets him apart
Russian leader likes to keep people guessing.
MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin's strident defense of a Syrian regime that has killed tens of thousands of its people in a civil war that has divided him from many world powers viewing Syria as a humanitarian disaster that demands intervention.

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Punkey is right, Ori - 'defense' is the subject.

Russian President of a Syrian regime ???

Russian President Vladimir Putin's of a Syrian regime ????

defense of a Syrian regime

It's an incomplete sentence.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's strident defense of a Syrian regime [etc]...[period] ... what?

Joe's strident defense of his drinking habit has wrecked his marriage. (understandable; not only is he is a boozer, he is stridently defensive about it, and few marriages can survive stridency)

Joe's strident defense of his drinking habit that has wrecked his marriage. (What? Makes him sound like a prick?)

Or it's a sentence with a typo or a sentence that went thru an edit and wasn't fixed up.



Agreed the extra 'that' is misplaced.

Yes. I see hasty editing here.

Yes, of course he's right.
Not that I didn't know it. Being hasty is to be blamed.