The evidence suggests that on Ukraine, Putin simply is not persuadable; he is all in. For him, preventing Ukraine from becoming a bastion that the West can use to threaten Russia is a strategic necessity.

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian forces are advancing faster in eastern Ukraine than they have done for a long time, taking several square kilometres per day, President Vladimir Putin said on Monday as Moscow's forces tried to smash through a Ukrainian defensive line.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday praised the speed with which his troops are occupying new territory in neighbouring Ukraine. During an appearance in front of schoolchildren, he said that Ukraine's attempt to halt the advance of Russian troops in the Donbass with its counterattack in the Kursk region had been in vain.