Ukraine has lost this war and it is amazing that it has been able to hold out as much as it has. The territories in the East will be ceded to Russia. Putin will be able to claim a victory as the rest of the world will agree that the Russian speaking territories are again a part of Russia.

I still think one of the biggest mistakes during the dissolution of the USSR was that Russia didn't request that Crimea be ceded back to it. For those reading my comment not named Tom, Joe, or Mike - Khrushchev ceded the territory to the Ukrainian SSR in 1954. In 1991 it should have gone back to Russia. Not sure why it didn't.

That part of the world continues to feel the aftershocks of WWI and WWII. The borders are just lines on a map, but they continue to bedevil the world.