03-16-2025, 08:21 AM
It's pretty obvious that Putin needs something to compromise on in negotiations, so he's taking a hard-line stance with the "no peacekeepers in western Ukraine", because he's going to cave on that, because he's not going to cave on much anything else -- such as the eastern oblasts, NATO membership, Kursk (no longer an issue), or Crimea. How much he wiggles on regime change demands or a buffer zone extending into eastern Odessa remains to be seen, but I'm guessing "not much". It's obvious that the West needs someone to protect their assets during the upcoming chaos of whatever-the-hell is going to happen to what's left of western Ukraine, and Putin understands that and would of course much rather snipe from the sidelines. So take it with a grain of salt.
