I think he knows he entered a war he cannot win so I think he is looking for some sort of way out and a promise that Ukraine
will never join NATO. Which I think the Ukrainian side will reject. The whole 'meeting' is BS of course. Just buying time to refuel.
Ukraine could agree to not join NATO, the trouble is that both sides have a vastly different understanding of what that means. Putin likely wants to keep Russian troops in the country and/or have a puppet government. Ukrainians would likely want some sort of security guarantee but not by Russia, which really doesn't leave a lot of options that aren't related to NATO. Maybe China can step in here
China is hoping that western governments will be scared to help Ukraine. They are on the side of Russia. China has similar ambissions for Taiwan.
It does not matter what kind of government they have or don't have. The Ukrainian-speaking and Russian-speaking Ukrainians are defending their motherland from the Russian invaders. Agent Putin grossly miscalculated the response of the civilians. He thought Russian-speaking Ukrainians will be waving Russian flags and welcome his troops, instead, they got bullets and Molotov cocktails.
The West should send sniper rifles to Ukraine asap so that every able Ukrainian can snipe Russian soldiers at will.
Putin took months to build up his military, and while he was doing so, he claimed to be doing military exercises. This gave the people of Ukraine time to be aware of the threat of a pending invasion, and it makes the pretext that Putin is using for the invasion clearly false without even knowing the details of Putin's allligations.
Russian soldiers appear to be demoralized, and do not appear to believe in what they are fighting for. There are reports that the solders were told they were going to the Ukraine border for exercises, not for war. There are reports that Russian solders are surrendering without even taking any fire.
It seems to me that Putin has changed. He is not the calculating, diplomatic, logical chess player he used to be even 10 years ago.
His actions are a bit erratic and unpredictable. I am not sure but I watched his videos over the years and did psychological profiles on him,
I can tell you, he lost his problem-solving skills. His facial expressions deteriorated. He is more angry, impatient and there is this unspoken
urgency in his communication, both verbal and non-verbal. He could be physically or mentally sick and that causes his changes in behavior.
Going into Ukraine with no logistical support beyond 3 days was a mistake that even a junior military strategist would not make.
That tells me he is making all decisions by himself and rejecting the advice of his military commanders.
Nuclear readiness is just a scare tactic ahead of the meeting with the Ukrainian delegation tomorrow.
If he kills them, we'll know we are dealing with a mad man. Why do they have to meet in person? No teleconferencing in Russia?
I think he knows he entered a war he cannot win so I think he is looking for some sort of way out and a promise that Ukraine
will never join NATO. Which I think the Ukrainian side will reject. The whole 'meeting' is BS of course. Just buying time to refuel.
I just do not foresee him deploying his all army and reserves into Ukraine to control it.
Even with his ~3M (regular and reserves) forces, it will be hard to carry out guerrilla warfare with people who have a history of
resisting invaders.
The more he escalates it, the more isolated his Soviet regime will become.
Putin is known to take big risks by western standards. He also owes his power to the oligarchs in his country, some of whom have faced increasingly stiff sanctions in recent years. The KGB does not have the same surveillance capabilities that China does, so it is difficult for Putin to truly know who is and isn't loyal.
It is also possible that Putin is unsure of who he can trust inside his inner circle. The west exposed Putin's plan to execute a false flag attack well ahead of time and may have made public the planned invasion date ahead of time. Both suggest that Putin has leaks coming from his inner circle.
It is not uncommon for peace talks to be held in person. Although asking to have the talks in a country that is not neutral does pose a risk to the Ukraine deligation, and does smell like a trap.