^^^^
As usual, your interpretation is.. what it is. Of course Putin is happy with what he got from Trump. I am myself surprised about how little Trump has learned about Ruzzian diplomacy despite the many sessions he has now gone through. However...
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[...]
You'll see soon enough, looks like no NATO for Ukraine, Donbas is Russian fully and Zaporizhzhia and Kherson get frozen at the front lines. So pretty much what Russia has been asking for from the start in all negotiations minus Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Might be a trap for Zelenskiy if he doesn't accept and somehow manages to sell it to Ukrainians.
[...]
Oh, so that is what Ruzzia has been "asking" since the begining? I see. 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?
The terms and conditions
PROPOSED are to be seen, so all this is "with due caution".
Ukraine may not accept to give territory just like that.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. It all points to what anyone in the future will classify as a minor "victory" or an "indecisive" closure. The economic damage, the militarisation of Ukraine, the international image of Ruzzia ridiculed by a relative small nation.... Yep sure, declare whatever (IF it happens).
Re Zelensky... again, depending on and if any of that actually happens, but he is probably going to be a big name in Ukraine's history. Putin will be a footnote in history - another Ruzzian gangster.
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.
What the heck... I think Ukraine is going to be armed to the teeth by Europe, and who cares about NATO if the US people choose guys like Trump, it is better to be out, grow the nuclear arsenal, grow the strategic capabilities and finish the development of the air defence equivalent of Patriots - which is already an ongoing programme.
Ruzzia is the one "European" country which has learned nothing from WW II.