I was hoping for an upbeat conversation.

I was hoping that Mikhail Zygar, one of the few journalists who understands how Putin thinks, would come bouncing on to our live video chat and tell me that he was hopeful that, like Trump, he could see peace in Ukraine around the corner…

But sadly, no.

His read of the last four days is that Putin’s trip to meet Trump in Alaska brought him exactly what he wants, which is more stalling time so he can continue the forever war.

And, that the European leaders who flew into DC to flank Volodymyr Zelensky in his meeting with Trump, came cynically just for the “photo opp,” to massage Trump’s ego, and, yes, also to bolster Zelensky, but without any expectation that the talks would get anywhere practically.

Further, Mikhail asks: what happens when we get to October? “I am really scared…”

Watch the conversation and read the full write-up on Vicky Ward Investigates.