At the same time, on the Ukraine side, the head of defense and Zelensky admin said >all we need is kiev and access to the sea... Unspoken: "...to be a thorn in Russias side forever." NATO realized it CANNOT win, CANNOT even maintain the war, so as a consolation prize they want a permanent war on Russias border. They wont seek a ceasefire or a peace deal because that would legitimize Russian holdings, and take diplomatic pressure off them. So they will just scale back combat and see if Russians do as well....