^^^^
As usual, your interpretation is.. what it is.

But it is not unexpected. Putin will "declare victory" in any outcome whatsoever and anyway it does not look like anyone will question. However, that is very different from victory as such.

Firstly, I think Putin will have to explain (or not explain anyway) why he has emptied the soviet arsenal of war to take the Donbas. I do understand waging a war for a land bridge to Crimea, but all these years for destroyed villages and a region that is mostly underdeveloped? Economically stupid.

Or, if you choose to think about it as creating a "buffer", well that is something, but also only to find out that Ukraine and many other nations have anyway drones and missiles that have much much longer range.

So let's recap:

- Objective: Demilitarise, "de-nazify" and all that - translation: Install a pro-Ruzzian government in Ukraine... FAILED.
- Objective, replacing the former: Impose impossible conditions for Ukraine, so that it eventually becomes untenable.... FAILED.
- Objective, replacing those two: Take 4 regions of Ukraine. FAILED.
- Objective, replacing all the former: Take the Donbas. MAYBE?

That is a short summary, perhaps too short and simplistic, but it certainly helps to understand what has been the real power of Ruzzia when actually put into practice, agains an extremely small version of what a war actually could be.

The terms and conditions are to be seen, so all this is "with due caution".

My guess is that Europe has not been left as out of the deal as it looks, else this may actually not end. There is one key takeaway for Europe from the current state of affairs with the US: EU cannot rely anymore on the US. What this means for Ruzzia, well I have quite a good idea of what it means, but I want to wait for the next few weeks.