Ukraine is not Afghanistan. Russia shares a 1,500 mile border with Ukraine along with hundreds of years of history and culture. Russia will never give up Crimea. If I were to point to one indicator as to why Russia will not withdraw, it would be Putin's July 2021 article, "On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians" Even if Putin were to depart, his successor would embrace Putin's beliefs about Ukraine.
On March 7, 2022 Russia issued Ukraine a list of conditions that it must follow to halt the invasion.
The demands include Ukraine ceasing military action, changing its constitution to enshrine neutrality, acknowledging Crimea as Russian territory, and recognizing the separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent states.
In the end, Ukraine will meet most of Russia's demands.
This is as valid, internationally, as Hitler's designs on other countries in Mein Kampf and German Lebensraum.
What happens to those people who DO NOT want to be part of Russia?
Is their fight futile?
Would our State Department, even under Mike Pompeo, go along with this? Would those small countries either ally together or seek larger allies?
Of course they would.
What Russia would get if the tried to make these "Historical Unity" neofascist/neoczarist fantasies reality is world war.
I think it's safe to say the West would be opposed.
And here we are.