"Putin is getting what he wants

it would appear at present. He has had that meeting with Trump."

Yes, perhaps that is what he really wanted. He has no intention of ending the attacks on Ukraine until he gets what he wants. For the moment that would appear to be a large and very valuable part of Ukraine's territory and an agreement that Ukraine will not seek NATO membership.

Such a move will leave Ukraine vulnerable to further attack and defenceless. Yes, of course what Putin wants is control over Ukraine again. It may even be that these moves will give him that. After all he only has to threaten to attack again if Ukraine does not bend to future demands.

The idea that this was some sort of "peace" summit is nonsense. It was nothing of the sort. It was two men, both powerful in their own way working out how much they think they can get away with. They both know that the rest of the world will allow it to happen. The EU won't put it at risk because it puts the EU at risk - both strategically and economically.

"Well, the Ukrainians shouldn't have gone to war," someone told me yesterday. This man had just asked me what I thought the outcome of the meeting would be. My response was that the Ukrainians would be the losers in any "agreement". Their constitution might require the agreement of the people via a referendum but the reality is that they will almost certainly be required to give in to the aggressor.  The idea that Ukraine should simply have allowed the takeover and let the rest of the world stand idly by is apparently quite a popular one. Yes, we let that happen with the Crimea - and look what has happened. 

Putin wants to end the war - but only if he can be seen to be the winner of his "special military operation".  He has lost more than he has gained so far but a large slice of Ukrainian territory and the suggestion to the Russian people that Ukraine is now part of Russia again will do a lot for his popularity. He will also move on to some of those smaller territories he has his eye on and they will perhaps fold almost immediately because he will be seen as having defeated Ukraine. Yes, he wants to rebuild the old USSR. 

Trump wants to end the war there and in the Middle East. It will make him the "greatest President of all time" and get him the Nobel Peace Prize for which he longs. 

Oh where is that remote island with no means of escape and no ability to contact the outside world? That is where these two deserve to be.