The Russians were pushed into it. There was a deal in place but globohomo dispatched Boris Johnson (who should be executed) to kill the deal. How long is this myth going to persist? Putin was not forced into it; he chose it. Zelensky had agreed to keep out of NATO before Russia invaded but Putin rejected this because he wanted some Ukrainian land and wanted to subjugate Ukraine like Belarus.
There was no agreement. There was an outline but there were major points that had not been resolved:
- Putin had not agree to withdraw from Donbas.
- Putin demanded that Ukraine limit its armed forces to 85,000 men, which would had left Ukraine defenseless against future Russian aggression.
- The western powers had not been consulted about, let alone agreed to, becoming guaranteeing powers.
- Russia demanded that it be one of the guaranteeing powers and that they could not act without unanimity. This would have given Russia veto power over the guarantees, making them useless.
Zelensky did not back out because of Boris Johnson's trip. He stated afterwards that he was still open to an agreement. Rather, what scuttled the talks was the revelations of the Bucha massacre. This turned Ukrainian opinion against any agreement. And it was Putin who first announced the break-off of negotiations. His excuse was that Ukraine was not a reliable partner because it had accused Russia of that massacre.