P ausing, turning, and pointing like hounds catching a new scent, Europe 's leaders are picking up a blood trail from the Kremlin. Vladimir Putin’s forces were once the hunters – now they are bleeding and Ukraine has the whiff victory in its nose. In the latest sign that Ukraine’s systematic new policy of trying to kill at least 50,000 Russians a month is working, Putin has told his people that the end of the war he started is near. And, in an act that was both desperate and doomed, he suggested that Gerhard Schröder, the former German chancellor could act as Europe’s envoy in talks. Vladimir Putin has tried to claim that the war in Ukraine is coming to an end (Reuters) A longstanding ally and friend of Russia’s president, the former German chancellor has also had deep ties to Russian companies, like the oil giant Gazprom. The idea of him being a European envoy was immediately dismissed. The reaction is best summed up by Kaja Kallas, the EU foreign policy chief.…