Kiev wasn’t a target until US pumped cash into Elinsky to drag out the slog against “Russia, Russia, Russia”.
Now, UKR will do well to just say “Thank you”, if Putin should agree to leave them a sliver of middle UKR, for a country. He may return eastern UKR to Poland.
[Z]elinsky will wind up in the Russian Tribunal for war crimes. Or, banished to a mother-in-law cottage in Boris Johnson’s London back yard.
One must keep in mind Nato and the US will be desperate when Vlad finishes rolling up the ethnic Russian territories. A wise and prudent man would prepare for an ill fated attempt by Nato to intervene.
Do keep in mind the Russian Congress ( Duma) has not even mobilized their armed forces. The Ukie on the other hand, are on their 8th mobilization, now requiring their woman to register….doesn’t sound like winning to me. Just saying.
“He may return eastern UKR to Poland.”
With the 500 M1Abrams tanks Poland has on order with the US, he should realize Poland might just chase him back to Russia with a little help from Ukraine partisans. It appears partisans in Crimea are already giving Putin a hard time and chasing large numbers of the 2 million who moved there after 2014 back to mother Russia with all the bad news about the fact this is a real WAR, not a Special Military Operation. This is really going to upset Putin’s recruitment activities.