By your measures, Ukraine won the war:
1. Military objectives: survive and not be a vassal state - done
2. political goals: survive and not be a vassal state - done
3. economic outcome: survive and not be a vassal state - done
Are you the kind that blames rape victims?
Vassal state, what does that mean? Ukraine is under American control in every aspect.
Just survive? No. The goal was to stop the Russians from taking the land in the East, then to push them back out. Neither has happened. Abject failure.
It was NEVER Russia’s plan to take all of Ukraine, nor even damage them to much. Realize, most of the damage being done to the Ukraine today is self inflicted, constant counter offensives that go now where at and cost thousands of lives which of course we don’t report on.
If the rape victim went to a bar by herself, got so drunk she blacked out, was hitting on guys and scantly clothed even before blacking out, the answer is “yes,” she is partially to blame for being raped regardless of what society says. Common sense.
Once Ukraine said “yes” to the Biden offer of unconditional NATO membership in October of 2021, the innocence was lost. Ukraine had just put themselves in a position where they are largely to blame with what follows, even if they are just a “vassal state” of the US and doing as we tell them. When we pushed NATO, unconditionally, we were putting Russia in an unacceptable security situation. We were doing something we would never accept ourselves if in Russia’s shoes.
If you want to talk about puppet’s, look no further than Mr Z, someone installed by the US. Someone where our MSM has absolutely no reports about who was financing him, his ties to the US state department, our NGOs (yes, Soros), and intelligence services, and how a young Jewish comedian with zero political weight rose to power at lightning speed. But no worries, nothing to see here... time for another story in our media about democracy, sovereignty, human rights and peace.
The problem: Ukraine and this conflict is because of outside influence. If folks would have really wanted a peaceful solution, if “sovereignty” and “democracy” were the goal, then we should have embraced the Minsk accord which basically is all about ridding outside influence (militarily) from Ukraine. The fact that we were the biggest culprit in violating this agreement tells all about our true intentions: https://www.ft.com/content/21b8f98e-b2a5-11e4-b234-00144feab7de
Reality: https://www.newsmax.com/us/defense-secretary-lloyd-austin/2023/09/19/id/1135000/ We are warming up to the idea of negotiating and ending the war. We are beginning to accept the idea that Ukraine lost this land and population, an industrial area and port city. The narrative is beginning to change at our most senior levels.