Well it does seem something is going on seeing the RF had not encircled key cities and is giving up various towns in some areas.
So I would not be LOL as you are.
I don’t believe Putin was ever trying to take all of Ukraine or had any plan to do so. IMO, the drive on Kiev was not a feint but it was designed to suck in all of Ukraine’s reserves so that the bulk of their professional army which is massed along the Donbas and which was set to launch an attack on Luhansk and Donetsk in a couple months could not be reinforced. That army is in the process of being cut off by the Russians. If it is destroyed, the entire eastern half of Ukraine will be wide open and Putin may demand a lot more than he would demand if they cut a deal now.