I tend to agree...Putin simply put down his markers. He probably indicated no weapons transferred to the Ukraine, no use of NATO forces within Ukraine, and no further sanctions. Joe has no cards to lay on the table, and this whole thing is finished unless the US gets really stupid.
Hypothetically, would it be un-American for one to be really kinda on Vlad’s side in this deal, or at least to see his point?
“unless the US gets really stupid.”
{sigh}
I dunno. Just got thru reading David Glantz’ book “When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler”. What you notice in that book is the extent to which the Soviets shifted their efforts south (toward the Ukraine) in the winter months of 1943-5. Winter campaigns are historically pretty common in that area.
Still, I don’t see any signs of an ultimatum in anything that Putin is saying.