Ukraine: Fish or Cut Bait

Sans a settlement on the Donbas and Crimea on the one hand or a significant ramping up of Ukraine fighting power, including NATO troops, on the other, Russia is now on track to prevail. Steven Kotkin is stealing my talking points on this. I would push now for a settlement to stop the unnecessary bloodletting on both sides. The US has no strategic interest in that region of the world... Ukraine leaders and oligarchs are no less corrupt than the Russian ones. Left wing Putin-hate is oriented more to an aversion to Putin's loudly proclaimed anti-woke-ism than any geopolitical military threat he poses to the "free world." Even if Putin were interested in recreating the Soviet Union, with an economy the size of the US state of Georgia, his efforts would have no purchase. US should make clear its intent of massive NATO retaliation should Putin move on a NATO member Baltic state. Meanwhile, let's get that war materiel now going to Ukraine over to Taipei where the real risks to world stability lie.