I say “Supposedly”, because quite frankly, I simply do not believe it at all. Putin’s ego, will not allow him to just stop. Putin wants all of Ukraine.
Via NYT:
President Vladimir V. Putin’s confidence seems to know no bounds.
Buoyed by Ukraine’s failed counteroffensive and flagging Western support, Mr. Putin says that Russia’s war goals have not changed. Addressing his generals on Tuesday, he boasted that Ukraine was so beleaguered that Russia’s invading troops were doing “what we want.”
“We won’t give up what’s ours,” he pledged, adding dismissively, “If they want to negotiate, let them negotiate.”
But in a recent push of back-channel diplomacy, Mr. Putin has been sending a different message: He is ready to make a deal.
Mr. Putin has been signaling through intermediaries since at least September that he is open to a cease-fire that freezes the fighting along the current lines, far short of his ambitions to dominate Ukraine, two former senior Russian officials close to the Kremlin and American and international officials who have received the message from Mr. Putin’s envoys say.
You should go read the rest of that; frankly, I do not believe it one bit. Putin is a nationalist. He believed that the break-up of the Soviet Union was a mistake, he had said as such.
While it might be wishful thinking, I just seriously doubt that there is even a kernel of truth to this story.
Others: The Messenger, USA Today, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Bloomberg and Wall Street Journal