The Russian diplomatic maneuvers suggest that Vladimir Putin does not respect U.S. President Donald Trump and is unafraid of further sanctions or pressure from Europe, as assessed by the American CNN television portal on Thursday.

U.S. and European officials persuaded President Volodymyr Zelensky to represent Ukraine at upcoming peace talks in Istanbul despite Russia's evasiveness about who it would send, the Washington Post (WP) reported on May 14,

The Ukrainian president has called Russia's low-level delegation sent to peace talks in Turkey merely "decorative." He had challenged Russia's leader to meet him in person to talk about ending the war.

Russia has called for direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul, but Ukraine’s European allies say Putin needs to agree to a ceasefire first.

From Macron’s empty troop pledge to a faltering sanctions regime, the EU’s Ukraine posture is performative without US power

Military experts have warned the Russian president's war-machine could be fully rebuilt to strength and made ready to attack NATO neighbours by 2027 if a peace deal is struck in Ukraine

Amid whirlwind diplomacy this week over the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine, it seemed like Volodymyr Zelenskyy had gotten the better of his adversary. Now Vladimir Putin has found what he presumably sees as the best way out of a tight spot by sending a lower-level delegation to peace talks.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky calls Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to send his aide 'a sign of cowardice' - Anadolu Ajansı