Trump's envoys thank Putin for wonderful memories

Clearly Putin laid out the red carpet for his two American visitors. So enthused were Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner that they told the wqorld they left Moscow with wonderful memories. Presumably they were talking about the exceptional food and drink, the plushness of their hotel bedrooms and the charming people they spoke to during their 24-hour visit. Never mind whether they actually achieved any breakthrough over ending the war in Ukraine - no sign of that. In fact, it seemed the only message they came away with was Putin's pronouncement that Russia was winning the war and wanted to finish it off. Putin's analysis of the war doesn't really bear any serious scrutiny. The ground element of the war has been in a stalemate for as long as one can remember. The drones and missiles keep flying, but Ukraine has caused so much damage to targets, especially Russia's navy, inside Russia, that most observers would say Kyiv has achieved more than Moscow and has more leverage than Putin has to persuade Witkoff and Kushner that actually Ukraine is winning the war. The Ukrainian military certainly hasn't lost it. But perhaps during his three or four hour chat with the two US envoys, Putin showed them a map of Ukraine to prove his claim that the Russians are marching on to victory. Neither envoy has a military background but they will have been briefed before they flew to Moscow that the amount of territory seized by Russia in the last year has amounted to a few dozen square kilometres. Nothing to write home about. Still, Witkoff and Kushner had a wonderful time in Moscow. Perhaps they will also have a wonderful memory of their visit to Kyiv today.