However, in the case of Ukraine, it is Russia that has the upper hand / leverage. Any deal (compromise) made will greatly favor their side.
To bring about an end to this war means to acknowledge that, and that is when reality (that we didn’t win this war) will settle in.
Ironically, those RESPONSIBLE for this war and its continuation will then turn around and blame Trump for a bad deal or losing it.
Trump has an ace up his sleave
Bankrupt Russia by opening US Energy production as far as he can get away with
Russian and Iran are highly vulnerable because they are primarily energy exporters.
Start taking their economic linchpin away from them and they will get a whole lot more willing to talk.
Most people have no idea how powerful the US is if it decides to stop playing nice.
However, in the case of Ukraine, it is Russia that has the upper hand / leverage. Any deal (compromise) made will greatly favor their side.
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A pyrric victory.
No one knows for sure what it cost in man and material for Russia to engage in this war, but the total in the end will be high.
It has also been expensive for Ukraine (more in men then equipment because he was provided supplies from the west, they are losing a generation of young men.)
They have bloodied their opponent and now is the time to end this.
How is why they have negotiations.
I would start with a cease fire in place and go from there.
Trump and NATO can apply more pressure by strengthening sanctions and generating internal political pressure against Putin. A few well-chosen comments would resonate against Putin domestically, just as Reagan's sanction and references to Russia as an "evil empire" and urging in Berlin to "tear down this wall" undermined the Soviet leadership at a time of peril.
In addition, even without NATO admission, continued support will keep Ukraine in the fight and Russia bleeding. Sooner or later, the most logical course will be accepted: a cease fire on present lines, with negotiations, and an interim deal that lasts until Putin leaves office.
In effect, the West can offer to Putin that he become like Franco after WW II. No support for a coup, that he dies a natural death, and that his family is protected and his stolen wealth (mostly) permitted to pass to them. Meanwhile, Russia will be able to redirect military strength against China, a deep concern to Putin and his advisers.
China today is pondering which to seize first: Vladivostok, or Taiwan? Putin could survive an ambiguous end to his Ukraine war, but he would not survive the loss of Vladivostok to China. Indeed, even if Ukraine surrendered today, Russia could not afford the expense and effort of occupation and of countering NATO's military buildup without putting the Russian Far East in jeopardy.
As it is, Putin's successors will end up relinquishing their tenuous hold on Ukraine and dropping his ambition to recover the glory of the Soviet era.