Perhaps if the two worlds are (1) rump western Ukraine with nato forces present as peace keepers and Ukraine de facto part of nato or (2) a demilitarized neutral Ukraine that retains more territory, with Russia not taking as much as they likely could.
Maybe (2) looks more attractive for a long term settlement than going for a maximalist territorial win.
Exactly, and if Ukraine is blocked from NATO and EU going forward, it’s going to fall under Russian influence in the long run because it’s going to become economically dependent on Russia. Once the proxy war is lost, and it becomes clear that Russia will not allow a repeat of 2014, then the west will lose interest in pouring money into Ukraine.
Perhaps if the two worlds are (1) rump western Ukraine with nato forces present as peace keepers and Ukraine de facto part of nato or (2) a demilitarized neutral Ukraine that retains more territory, with Russia not taking as much as they likely could.
Maybe (2) looks more attractive for a long term settlement than going for a maximalist territorial win.
Exactly, and if Ukraine is blocked from NATO and EU going forward, it’s going to fall under Russian influence in the long run because it’s going to become economically dependent on Russia. Once the proxy war is lost, and it becomes clear that Russia will not allow a repeat of 2014, then the west will lose interest in pouring money into Ukraine.