I’d just spent eight surreal hours waiting for a promised press event with Vladimir Putin—an invitation cloaked in secrecy and late-stage ambiguity. When the Russian president finally appeared in the Malachite Hall, he didn’t take questions. Instead, he delivered a live televised statement proposing direct peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul. Then he vanished.
I exited the palace but took a wrong turn in the labyrinthine Kremlin grounds. “Nyet vykhoda!” barked one guard. “No way out!” warned another. It felt like a scene from a John le Carré novel.
That disorienting night proved to be the opening act of a hectic, high-stakes fortnight. In rapid succession came the Istanbul peace overture, a round of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations, and a two-hour phone call between Putin and Donald Trump.
Yet, for all the spectacle and noise, peace remains elusive.
Russia appears more confident, even assertive, after this diplomatic blitz. Putin has seized control of the narrative, projecting the image of a leader open to talks but on his terms. Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to fight for sovereignty, wary of a peace deal that might come with territorial compromise.
What this two-week diplomatic sprint has made clear is this: the Kremlin is choreographing a show of engagement, but the endgame—real, lasting peace—still feels out of reach.
After all the handshakes, speeches, and phone calls, we are still lost in the Kremlin.
