What would Putin replace it with?
Would the people of Ukraine accept a new government installed by Putin?
We accepted Biden being installed.
Could be as long as in the Ukrainian Constitution it states Ukraine can never join NATO, that may be fine for Putin.
Call it wishful thinking, but perhaps that’s the whole reason Putin did this, he was tired of waiting. Of course it wasn’t justified. But I really don’t see a long-term total occupation of Ukraine playing all that well back home. But getting the guarantee of no NATO in Ukraine is something Russians do want.
Why not? They accepted a government installed by Barack Obama and John McCain.