Do they want the conflict to end as in "we recognize that prolonging the conflict will only lead to more suffering so we should negotiate a deal between Ukraine and Russia" or do they want the conflict to end as "russian subhumans must evacuate Ukraine immediately and let them reset their borders to the ones prior to 2014". Because one of those is an actual serious opinion and the other one is shown by every Lemmy lib who wanders into Hexbear for more than 2 minutes. The latter opinion is also seemingly shared by Zelensky and Co. as they keep having these peace summits without inviting Russia, which seems like wishcasting more than anything.
It seems like increasingly the former. I think it's important to keep in mind that terminally online libs on social media aren't actually representative of the general opinion.
— Yes, Ukraine has no serious chance of coming out of this with anything remotely resembling a victory and the immediate brokering of peace has been the only sensible path forward for the past two years.
At this point I want to just see the signing ceremony, where at the end Putin reminds everyone "you could have gotten this exact same deal in March 2022."
This war now is basically to salvage the legacy of the Overpromoted Comedian, and the west as an entity. Anything less than a fantasy victory that cedes everything west of Vladivostok to Kiev will be evidence their obstinance cost thousands of lives.
Idk if it's politically feasible for Putin to offer the same deal as 2022. He needs to show gains for lives lost and treasure spent to the Russian people.