In 1943, the US government gathered prominent psychologists to predict the end of the war. They spent a couple of months deliberating and came up with these stunning conclusions:

1) Hitler would be successful in holding onto power.

2) He would sooner see Germany burn to the ground than surrender.

3) If he is not killed by military means, he would die by suicide.

There never was any negotiations with this man. Britain gave him Czechoslovakia and he wanted more later. From the Russian side, there is no negotiation. Any peace would be temporary.

From the Ukrainian side, they have had too much history with the Russian psyche. It's not hard to figure out why they are fighting so hard.

If you have the time, watch the German film Sophie Scholl: the Final Days. While this film is about the Nazi state vs. the German resistance, it depicts the life of Ukraine under Russian occupation, past and future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrbBlXqc1Is

It would be nice for the west to help Ukraine by walking on the geopolitical high road. But we don't live in a perfect world. Muddy decisions have to be made, and not helping Ukraine (forcing them to negotiate) is just as muddy as helping.

In the long term, we need a better system of finding our political leadership such that international leaders are walking on the high road.