It gets murky for now. Putin's choices are:
A) Refuse any ceasefire that's not a total capitulation from Ukraine. It would probably propel his image domestically but also kills the "Zelenski doesn't want peace" BS story, doesn't end the war and makes Trump's negotiations a failure.
B) Accept the ceasefire under the proposed conditions, regroup and come back on the offensive in 30 days under a new set of conditions. Rinse and repeat. This would probably give Trump a little win and be detrimental for Ukraine in the long term, but it could be seen as a sign of weakness domestically which is the last thing he wants.
C) "Yes and"; as in adding new conditions to sit Zelenski on the stand again; this is what I think he will do as it advances his cause without politically harming either him or his asset in the White House. Thing is, on the meantime Ukraine will continue to have military and intelligence support, which could harm Russia on the battlefield.
This war of attrition on the ground has also become (to Trump's "merit") a political war of attrition. On the meantime Zelenski will try and run the clock down until either A) Europe is able to effectively replace the US support; or B) Russia/US's domestic situation changes into a more favorable one for Ukraine's continued independence, safety and self determination.
A) Refuse any ceasefire that's not a total capitulation from Ukraine. It would probably propel his image domestically but also kills the "Zelenski doesn't want peace" BS story, doesn't end the war and makes Trump's negotiations a failure.
B) Accept the ceasefire under the proposed conditions, regroup and come back on the offensive in 30 days under a new set of conditions. Rinse and repeat. This would probably give Trump a little win and be detrimental for Ukraine in the long term, but it could be seen as a sign of weakness domestically which is the last thing he wants.
C) "Yes and"; as in adding new conditions to sit Zelenski on the stand again; this is what I think he will do as it advances his cause without politically harming either him or his asset in the White House. Thing is, on the meantime Ukraine will continue to have military and intelligence support, which could harm Russia on the battlefield.
This war of attrition on the ground has also become (to Trump's "merit") a political war of attrition. On the meantime Zelenski will try and run the clock down until either A) Europe is able to effectively replace the US support; or B) Russia/US's domestic situation changes into a more favorable one for Ukraine's continued independence, safety and self determination.