Former U.S. officials have held secret Ukraine talks with prominent Russians

[Xolodno]

21. Apparently Ukraine and Russia were close to a ceasefire at the beginning of the war.

Forgot where I read it.

Putin saw his gambit to take Kiev wasn't going to work and would have to be in a long drawn out slugfest. And Zelensky wasn't too keen on a long war either.

Obviously the main issue was NATO, Ukraine would stop the rhetoric of joining and looking for ways to join (Zelensky had suggested having a referendum on the occupied areas to cede them and then apply for NATO). Later, discuss a treaty ending any attempt to join NATO.

Russia, would allow them to pursue and join the EU. Apparently they never had an objection to this.

Next, was the number of western arms flowing into the country. And giving the Donbass area a lot of autonomy. Crimea would be discussed at a later summit.

Then Boris Johnson showed up in Kiev and convinced the Ukranian government (promising lots of arms, money, etc.) to stop any negotiations. He believed Putin would give in and just declare victory and walk away.

It's obvious he is ready to go the distance and is so far into it, he can't stop. Worse, both sides have upped their demands. Zelensky wants everything back and Putin will continue to consolidate his gains and fight as long as NATO is still on the table.

Back channel diplomacy seems like the only option as everyone has publicly used hard rhetoric. Plus if it falls apart, its deniable.