“So the question is: why is this article being published?”
The problem is that the Neocons are ABSOLUTELY CONVINCED that this war is simply a Hitler-style land-grab and nothing more - so they’re having the media put out a ‘deal’, where Russia gets some land (what they now hold) in exchange for stopping the combat.
The thing is that they actually think that Russia will bite - dream on! Russia has been VERY CLEAR by both words and actions over the past 20+ years that this conflict is anything BUT a simple land-grab, and the Neocons will be forced to accept that FACT, whether they like it or not.
Russia has been consistent on its demands to end this ongoing ten year old war.
What are Russia’s four demands to end war in Ukraine?
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said fighting would ‘stop in a moment’ if conditions are met
1. Russia wants Ukraine to stop all military action
2. Russia wants Ukraine to change its constitution to enshrine neutrality
3. Russia wants Ukraine to acknowledge that Crimea is officially Russian territory Ty, culture,
4. Ukraine must also recognise Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states
Russia and Ukraine share a 1,400 mile border and hundreds of years of history, cultural and linguistic ties, religion, politics, economic relations, etc. They must reach a modus vivendi or there will be perpetual war.
This remains a proxy war with Ukraine being sacrificed to effect regime change in Russia and weaken them militarily. Biden and Austin have explicitly stated these as objectives. Putin has been labeled as a war criminal by Biden. You don’t negotiate with a war criminal.
We have moved into a new Cold War and a global political realignment. Most of the world is ignoring the sanctions against Russia. Some NATO countries are not going along with sanctions, I.e., Hungary and Turkey, while others have said no more aid for the war in Ukraine. European domestic opposition to the war is growing. US public opinion is shifting towards an end to the war and the hundreds of billions of dollars that have been spent in support of another endless war that requires more and more borrowing to prolong it.
There is no exit strategy. And even if the war ended tomorrow, hundreds of billions are required to rebuild Ukraine, one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Elections have been postponed, opponents jailed, media muzzled, and millions voting with their feet by leaving the country as refugees, including young people fleeing the draft. The average age of a Ukrainian soldier is 42 despite lowering the draft age to 25 from 27. It is time to stop the senseless death and destruction.