It's 2:30am.

Inside the Kremlin walls I'm wandering alone through the vast grounds trying – and failing – to find my way out.

I spot a checkpoint, approach and show my passport.

"Nyet vykhoda!" ["No exit!"] replies the guard. He points in the opposite direction.

I walk back and, eventually, come to another checkpoint.

"No way out!" says the sentry.

I'm lost. Inside the Kremlin. In the dead of night.

It's like being in a John le Carré novel.

It's been quite an evening. I arrived at 5pm. Along with a small group of journalists, I'd been invited to "an event with President Putin". What kind of event? To begin with the Kremlin wouldn't say. Eventually we were told Vladimir Putin would be taking questions.

Eight hours later, the president strode into the Malachite Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace and sat at a desk.

But there'd been a change of plan. No press conference. No questions. Instead, live on Russian TV, Putin delivered a statement in which he proposed direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul.

Event over, I walk out of the Kremlin Palace but take a wrong turn. Finally, I locate the correct exit and, bleary-eyed, take a taxi home.

This was the start of what has turned out to be a real rollercoaster of a fortnight. What began with a late-night Kremlin statement continued with peace talks in Turkey and then a two-hour telephone call between Putin and Donald Trump.

But, at the end of it, are we any closer to peace in Ukraine?

It doesn't feel like it.

Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

Although there is talk about more talks, and of а possible future "memorandum" on a "possible future peace", it all sounds rather vague.

For now, the fighting goes on.

Russia is still refusing to sign up to an unconditional comprehensive ceasefire. It has no intention of returning any of the Ukrainian land it has seized, occupied and claims to have annexed. On the contrary: it's pushing for more.

Right now, the Ukraine peace process resembles being lost in the Kremlin late at night.

It's hard to see the exit.

The Kremlin side-step

And yet the past two weeks have revealed a lot.

First, how Russia neutralises potential threats and pressure points.

Kremlin critics would put this another way: how Russia plays for time.

On 10 May (a few hours before I got lost in the Kremlin), after a phone call with Donald Trump, European leaders had issued an ultimatum to President Putin: agree to an unconditional long-term ceasefire in Ukraine in two days or face crushing new sanctions.

Since March the Trump administration has been calling on Russia and Ukraine to accept a 30-day comprehensive ceasefire. Kyiv agreed. Moscow hasn't.

The Kremlin leader sidestepped the European ultimatum with his counter proposal of direct talks in Turkey. The idea was greeted with scepticism in Ukraine and across Europe. But it was enough to placate Trump and convince him Russia was serious about wanting peace. He was all for the talks. "Crushing" new sanctions were delayed.

Ahead of the Istanbul meeting on 16 May, President Trump gave the impression that Vladimir Putin might attend. The Kremlin leader did not, sending instead a comparatively low-level delegation that once more rejected the idea of a long-term ceasefire. But, again, the modest results of the talks were sufficient to persuade the US president that progress was being made.

Then came the Trump-Putin phone call on 19 May.

By the end of it, Russia had still not agreed to an immediate comprehensive cessation of hostilities. Instead, according to President Trump, "Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War".

But Moscow is already casting doubt on whether it would sign any future peace treaty with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. For a year now the Russian authorities have been attempting to delegitimise Ukraine's president since the expiry of his presidential term. However, Ukraine's Constitution prohibits the holding of elections in wartime.

And the reason for martial law in Ukraine is Russia's invasion.

"Would Russia sit down and sign a peace agreement with President Zelensky?" I asked Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday.

"You're putting the cart before the horse," Mr Lavrov replied. "First we need to have a deal. When it's agreed, then we will decide. But, as President Putin has said many times, President Zelensky does not have legitimacy… Probably the best option would be new elections…"

Confident Russia

The Russian media has concluded that, after two weeks of diplomacy, Moscow has strengthened its hand.

"Russia has won the latest round of global poker," declared the Izvestia newspaper last week.

"Donald Trump's stance couldn't be more advantageous to Moscow," wrote Kommersant. "In effect he backed Russia's position of 'Talks first, ceasefire later' and refused to strengthen sanctions against Russia."

A social scientist told Kommersant: "Donald Trump, at least for now, is our ideological partner on certain issues. His views are much closer to Russia's than to Europe's."

And the ultra pro-Kremlin Komsomolskaya Pravda had this message for European leaders:

"You were warned. Don't wave threats and ultimatums in the face of the bear. Don't try to impose conditions in talks that have nothing to do with you.

"Just sit in the lobby and breathe in the smell of the new world order."

Moscow's confidence is also fuelled by the belief that, in Ukraine, it holds the initiative on the battlefield.

Reluctant Trump

Back in 2023 Donald Trump had promised that, if he won the presidency, "we will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled… I'll get them both. I know Zelensky, I know Putin. It'll be done within 24 hours, you watch".

Trump has been in the Oval Office for more than four months now, but the "horrible war" goes on.

On rare occasions, he has publicly rebuked the Kremlin and threatened further sanctions. Last month he said: "…there was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days. It makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, he's just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through 'Banking' or 'Secondary Sanctions?'"

But there's been no follow-through. The US president appears reluctant to ratchet up the pressure on the Kremlin, instead signalling to Moscow that he's keen to reboot US-Russia relations.

Office of the President of Ukraine via Getty Images

Following the presidents' telephone conversation, Putin's foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, who'd sat in on the call, told journalists: "Trump spoke rather emotionally about the prospects for [bilateral] relations. Trump sees Russia as one of America's most important partners in trade and economic matters."

President Trump seems determined to push on with his rapprochement with Russia, whatever happens on Ukraine.

And Moscow senses that.

"President Trump does not link continued US-Russia dialogue to the Ukraine peace process," was a headline in the Russian government paper Rossiyskaya Gazeta this week.

That doesn't mean the Kremlin has headed off the danger of additional restrictions completely. The US Senate has threatened tough new sanctions against Russia if Moscow doesn't get serious about diplomacy.

Up to this point the Kremlin has been able to deflect or to sidestep whatever pressure it's come under to make compromises and concessions regarding its war on Ukraine.

It seems confident it will continue to do so.

An autistic man wants all teachers to undertake training to help them better understand how to interact with neurodivergent students and employees.

Tom Howard's petition, calling on the government to make the training mandatory, already has more than 10,000 supporters.

The 29-year-old, from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, hoped it would help make education more accessible, improve inclusion and safety, and ensure the mental health of neurodivergent students does not suffer like his did.

"At university, things became overwhelming, the lack of understanding and reasonable adjustments pushed me to breaking point," he told the BBC.

Supplied

According to the national charity Children's Society UK, it was estimated that between 15 and 20% of young people in the UK were neurodivergent.

This meant they had been diagnosed with either autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, dysgraphia or Tourette's Syndrome, NHS England said.

Research by the National Autistic Society, meanwhile, showed just 14% of secondary school teachers have received more than half a day's training on autism.

Its education report also revealed that 70% of autistic young people said teachers don't understand enough about autism.

Joey Nettleton Burrows, policy and public affairs manager at the organisation, said it was "critical" for teachers to understand autism to ensure autistic pupils feel supported in the classroom.

"A lack of understanding about autism can lead to students feeling unsupported, or that their needs aren't being met, which can have a negative impact on their attendance and attainment," he said.

"Autistic children deserve the right help at school, and teachers should be supported to provide this.

"All teachers and school staff should receive mandatory autism training to improve understanding and ensure that all autistic children get the education they need."

Getty Images

Mr Howard said he feared struggles faced by neurodivergent students could contribute to "poor mental health and emotional distress" – something he wants to prevent from happening.

"I want teachers to have training so they can spot and understand the signs and symptoms and learn how to interact with people who are neurodivergent," he said.

"But it's not just about the interactions between teachers and students because there are more and more neurodivergent teachers and support staff in the workplace."

'Every student deserves to be understood'

Mr Howard received a "late diagnosis" for his autism in July 2016 when he was 20 years old and studying at university.

Before his diagnosis, the lack of quiet spaces for breaks, clear instructions, extended time for exams and coursework, flexible deadlines and the availability of assistive technology made studying difficult, he said.

He also struggled with changing timetables, not being allowed to leave class when he felt overwhelmed, and not having one-to-one mentoring sessions with a trusted staff member.

"This lived experience is what now drives me to campaign for change because no one should have to reach crisis before they're supported," he said.

"Every teacher deserves the tools to recognise and respond to neurodivergence—and every student deserves to be understood."

'Something will change'

Mr Howard surveyed just over 80 teachers and lecturers as part of research for his campaign and said he was "quite surprised" when 90% told him neurodivergent training would be useful.

Speaking about the petition, he said: "It is absolutely incredible, I have been overwhelmed by the public response, and I am looking forward to seeing what the government has to say.

"If I can get further cross-party backing and keep raising awareness, I think we will slowly chip away at it, and I am hopeful something will change."

The government is required to respond to petitions on the UK Parliament website with more than 10,000 signatures.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "It will take time but, as part of our Plan for Change, we are thinking differently about what the Send [special educational needs and disabilities] system should look like, to restore the confidence of families up and down the country and deliver the improvement they are crying out for so every child can achieve and thrive.

"We are already making progress by investing £1bn into Send nationally and £740m to encourage councils to create more specialist places in mainstream schools, paving the way for significant, long-term reform."

The damage caused to 85 graves in the Muslim section of a cemetery is being treated as an Islamophobic hate crime, police have said.

The vandalism to the plaques and graves at Carpenders Park Lawn Cemetery in Hertfordshire – many belonging to babies and children – was reported on Sunday.

Ch Supt Jon Simpson said the force had explored several potential reasons for the damage and wanted to be careful how it was described to the public.

"However, now our inquiry has progressed we are confident that sadly, this was a religiously motivated act," he said.

"We would like to reassure those affected, and the wider Muslim community, that we are continuing to treat this crime extremely seriously."

Wadi Funeralcare

Ch Supt Simpson's colleague Sgt Irfan Ishaq said he had been "listening to and recording feedback" from Muslim communities.

"We completely understand their frustration at the delay in confirming it as a hate crime and stand with them in their condemnation of this dreadful incident," he said.

"I'm sure the public can appreciate that as police, it is important for us to approach every incident reported to us with an open mind to ensure an unbiased and fair investigation."

Wadi Funeralcare

Officers are working to identify families affected by the damage and a police presence is expected to remain in the area.

The cemetery is in the Three Rivers District, but owned by Brent Council in north London.

Earlier this week, Labour leader Muhammed Butt said the council would reinstate the damaged name plaques and return the cemetery to a "peaceful, quiet place of remembrance as quickly as possible".