Putin’s requirements have been the same from the very outset. And he and Zelensky were in negotiations in Turkiye just several weeks into the invasion, where they may have finalized a settlement over Crimea and NATO - until the U.S. and Britain intervened, urged Zelensky to keep fighting with their support, thinking we could finally crush Russia as a global power through massive economic sanctions. We failed as badly at that as Putin failed thinking he could quickly take Kyiv, and put a pro-Russia leader in place.
So this is really a war between the U.S. and Russia, with Ukrainians dying for us.
Putin’s requirements have been the same from the very outset. And he and Zelensky were in negotiations in Turkiye just several weeks into the invasion, where they may have finalized a settlement over Crimea and NATO - until the U.S. and Britain intervened, urged Zelensky to keep fighting with their support, thinking we could finally crush Russia as a global power through massive economic sanctions. We failed as badly at that as Putin failed thinking he could quickly take Kyiv, and put a pro-Russia leader in place.
So this is really a war between the U.S. and Russia, with Ukrainians dying for us.