It’s the fencing bout that seems destined never to end. Vladimir Putin threw down the proverbial gauntlet in 2022 when he declared his intentions toward the “fair maiden” of his dreams: Ukraine.

Donald Trump took up the challenge — not because he wanted to win the hand of the fair maiden for himself, but because his claimed title of the “Peace President” and his fragile ego were at stake.

Day after day, month after month since then, one thrusts, the other parries, then they reverse positions to do it over . . . and over . . . and over again. Meanwhile, both prizes — Putin’s beautiful Ukraine and Trump’s precious ego — have suffered immeasurably.

And yet, despite our exhaustion and disillusionment, we continue to watch with unabated fascination because — like a train wreck in slow motion — the stakes are too high to allow us to look away.

Once again, the past two days have brought us through another exchange of challenges, yet no closer to a resolution. On Friday, October 24th, Kirill Dmitriev — Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, currently in Washington for three days of high-level meetings — said with regard to the war in Ukraine:

“I believe Russia and the US and Ukraine are actually quite close to a diplomatic solution.” [RFE/RL, October 25, 2025.]

Yet he offered no basis for his opinion. Instead, he blithely dismissed the adverse effects of the latest round of U.S. and EU sanctions, saying:

“So I think the real issue is how to continue a dialogue how to have a peaceful resolution to the crisis while having realistic solutions rather than put forward unrealistic solutions.” [Id.]

Typical diplomatic double-speak, signifying nothing — except possibly offering a clue that those sanctions are in fact proving more effective than his government is willing to admit.

His meetings in Washington are to wind up today, so we shall see what, if anything, Dmitriev has to add at the end of the day.

Meanwhile, on Air Force One . . .

Trump spoke to reporters while en route to Asia for meetings in Malaysia, Japan, and with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea. He said that, contrary to Dmitriev’s expression of optimism, he would not soon be meeting with Putin without an indication that some positive result was in the offing:

“You have to know that we’re going to make a deal. I’m not going to be wasting my time. I’ve always had a great relationship with Vladimir Putin, but this has been very disappointing. I thought this would have gotten done before peace in the Middle East.” [RFE/RL, October 26, 2025 CET.]

With the hoped-for Trump-Putin meeting in Budapest off the table, two U.S. officials told Reuters that an additional series of sanctions had been prepared against Russia’s economy, to be used if Putin again refuses to reach an accord. [Id.]

But Reuters also quoted another, also unidentified senior U.S. official as saying that Trump would prefer the next round of sanctions or tariffs to come from European nations. [Id.]

So once again, the question is: Does anyone really know what’s going on?

And my guess is that the answer is: Not really — considering that the two men wielding the epees in this fencing match are equally mercurial, unpredictable, stubborn, egotistical, and . . .

Well, please feel free to add your own adjectives here. I’m tired now.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/26/25