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This may well turn out not to be true.
What is the upside for Russia continuing its operation in Ukraine?
What do they ultimately get out of having done this that is better for them than they were before the invasion?
Do they stay and occupy what Uke territory they currently control? Are there rewards to them for doing that that pay for the cost of occupying?
Would an occupation force be subject to serious resistance by the locals, etc that would exact a further toll in Russian lives lost and cost? How brutal would they be willing to act as occupiers to minimize resistance?
Would the West fund resistance like to the Muhajadin in Russian occupied Afghanistan?

They will complete the conquest of the traditional Russian areas (300 years) which means Odessa and Kharkiv will be lost to Russia permanently. Had the West actually negotiated the Minsk Agreements in good faith, perhaps the eastern part of what was Ukraine wouldn’t have been transformed back to Russian. Putin will also ensure that NATO Ukraine will NEVER happen. These are the goals originally set and when they are accomplished the Russians will consider ending this if NATO GTFO of Ukraine. None of the war and killing were necessary if the West hadn’t been so hell bent on trying to use Ukraine to overthrow Russia.

desertsolitaire: "What do they ultimately get out of having done this that is better for them than they were before the invasion?
Do they stay and occupy what Uke territory they currently control?
Are there rewards to them for doing that that pay for the cost of occupying?"

hardspunned #37: "They will complete the conquest of the traditional Russian areas (300 years) which means Odessa and Kharkiv will be lost to Russia permanently. "

Here is the truth of it:

"Russkiy Mir" is the key to understanding Vlad the Invader's actions and motives.
"Russkiy Mir" means: if you live close to Russia then you are Russian and must obey directions from Moscow.
If you live further from Russia and claim not to be Russians, then you must still "Kowtow", to use the Chinese term for it, to Moscow and honor Vlad's demands.

hardspunned #37: "Had the West actually negotiated the Minsk Agreements in good faith, perhaps the eastern part of what was Ukraine wouldn’t have been transformed back to Russian."

Once you understand "Russkiy Mir", you know that this is all just lies & nonsense and that Vlad the Invader was going to do what he has to do regardless of what pretexts he has to concoct for it.

The real reasons for Vlad's invasions of foreign countries had nothing to do with alleged provocations and everything to do with Vlad's perceptions of Western, especially American, weaknesses.
Our manifest weakness after Afghanistan in 2021 was the primary driver behind Vlad's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and everything else is just a smokescreen of nonsense meaning nothing.

hardspunned #37: "Putin will also ensure that NATO Ukraine will NEVER happen.
These are the goals originally set and when they are accomplished the Russians will consider ending this if NATO GTFO of Ukraine. "

Despite the best efforts of Vlad the Invader's spokesmen here on Free Republic, in fact, Vlad will have no say -- zero, zip, nada, zilch say -- in which countries join NATO and which don't.
Indeed, some current NATO countries (i.e., Hungary, Slovakia) may eventually decide they'd rather belong to the "Russkiy Mir" than to NATO, but that will be their choice, not Vlad's.

This outdated 2014 map is still Vlad the Invader's "Russkiy Mir" vision of Europe: