“It has always been about the mineral wealth of Ukraine, an estimated $14 trillion.”
Sounds like Ukraine should have taken the Dec. 2021 deal, or the March 2022 deal, as they would have retained that wealth...but no, they threw their lot in with the Neocons, and the Neocons are quickly starting to tire of Ukraine - as demonstrated by the Nuland firing.
Anything would have been better, including letting Putin have some narrow concessions in terms of land.