pcr speaks about the thing i can't grok. the putin tells the empire how it will end its war and the empire refuses to hear, repeatedly since it began;

Trump envoy reveals NATO troop deployment plans for Ukraine

Paul Craig Roberts 

I have been wondering if the Trump regime’s peace negotiations are sincere.  The plan revealed by Trump’s envoy Keith Kellogg indicates that the negotiations are not sincere.  Putin, Lavrov and Security Council Secretary Shoigu, the former Minister of Defense, have all made it clear that NATO troops in Ukraine are unacceptable and could result in World War III.  So why has Kellogg supported, or arranged, a joint statement by the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the UK pledging “robust security guarantees for Ukraine,” consisting of “a coalition of air, land, and maritime reassurance forces that could help create confidence in any future peace and support the regeneration of Ukraine’s armed forces.”  This is certainly not the de-militarization of Ukraine that the Kremlin requires, and protection by NATO forces is the same as being a member of NATO.

Putin has brought this upon Russia by his and his foreign minister’s continuous bleating for a negotiated settlement. For more than three years Putin has avoided a military victory.  The explanation I offer is that he saw in the conflict what he thought was an opportunity to use it to reach a great power settlement, like the mutual security agreement with the West that he and his foreign minister tried to achieve during December 2021 and February 2022.  ..........more.........