Putin Was Speechless
- 27.07.2026, 11:56
Tokayev conveyed “greetings” from some respected individuals.
On Saturday, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said during a meeting with Putin in Omsk, that it is time to stop the war in Ukraine. Putin has yet to come up with a response. Although over the past two days he has had plenty of reasons and opportunities to do so. But this is not surprising. When truly major troubles arise, Putin always retreats into a state of complete denial, writes planbmedia.io.
What’s most upsetting is that Tokayev didn’t just make his statement about the need to end the war publicly. He made it while on Russian soil—during the Kazakhstan-Russia Regional Forum in Omsk. Moreover, he immediately clarified that he was acting not only for his own sake.
“I’m receiving a lot of messages—from Europe, from the United States of America…. The nature of this conflict isn’t entirely clear to many people, including us… People know that I was going to be in Omsk, they know about our meeting, and they’ve asked me to convey how to resolve the situation,” said Tokayev. “Maybe it’s time to freeze this conflict.”
In other words, the guys are concerned. They don’t like any of this. They asked me to convey that it’s time to call it quits. For now, with all due respect. Putin responded by promising to inform Tokayev about the progress and background of the situation in private.
Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, responded publicly on his behalf. He said that freezing the conflict until Ukraine’s surrender is impossible. And those who suggest this are simply not in the know.
“So, we haven’t been effective enough in explaining the root causes. We’ll keep doing so with redoubled energy,” Peskov said.
In other words, Putin told the guys who were asking to go to hell. But he did so through his press secretary. He himself couldn’t find the right words—at least not publicly. And, tellingly, this isn’t the first time.
Putin remained silent for 36 hours about Ukraine’s offensive in the Kursk region. He didn’t comment on the fire at the Vishnya shopping center in 2018, which killed 60 people, until 40 hours later. His press service also spoke on Putin’s behalf regarding the Beslan school siege in 2004. He himself made a public statement only after the assault, during which more than 300 people were killed. And Putin took the longest to find the right words during the Kursk submarine disaster. It wasn’t until four days later—long after the submarine had “sunk”—that he finally found the words.
In short, Putin is at a loss for words every time he faces truly major troubles. So the greeting that Tokayev conveyed on behalf of respected figures feels to Putin, in a way, like a Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region. When the world suddenly turns upside down so much that you don’t even know what to say.