There isn’t enough Ukrainian cannon fodder left for NATO to use to get Russia out of LPR and DPR once his new borders are up and they are dug in. It’s going to take NATO to mount that operation. This has been six months around the maypole. If NATO attacks the newly voted “Russian republics” a NATO meat grinder is your best hope. Remember, we want to avoid those very large blinding flashes. They’re immediately followed by something pretty terrible.
Ukraine is still there. The Moskva and its sailors are gone. Forever.
You are overlooking all of the patriotic Ukrainians that live in the Donbas. Human intelligence provided by them has been used to undermine Russian defenses and to destroy munition depots. The Ukrainian Army is not cannon fodder. It is one of the most intrepid forces on the planet. The many thousands of Russian speakers from the Donbas that serve in the Ukrainian Army have the homefield advantage over the Russians in the temporarily occupied areas.