@axtremus
Ostensibly, that is a major part of what Putin wants from the West. That means a Ukraine that resides outside the influence of western liberalism that is predominant in the EU. Putin also wants a Ukraine that remains culturally and economically integrated with Russia.
If the report above is true, then Biden’s policy is not too far removed from The Minsk Accord that Ukraine agreed to but did not implement to solve the Donetsk question. Essentially Ukraine needs to adopt a form of federalism that will accommodate the ethnic Russian speaking majority who have lived in those regions for hundreds of years.
The borders of Ukraine that now exist were arbitrary constructs made up during the early years of the USSR. When it fell apart in 1990, none of the political leaders of the country saw the need to revise the borders as they believed they were entering into a voluntary confederation of states that had made up the USSR. Still, I personally do not believe Putin wants eastern Ukraine. Unlike Crimea, he knows only too well that it is an economic and political liability that Russia can I’ll afford.
As for Crimea, it is part of Russia. It will not be returned to Ukraine. Kyiv, Washington and the rest of Western liberaldom will just have to get over it.