Putin already has his land corridor to Crimea, so why does he fight on? Simply, he doesn't really have a lasting victory unless he achieves regime change in Kyiv. But the idea that the Russian army will simply walk over half the country, install a puppet leader and then go home and everything will be fine is beyond absurd. A defeated occupied Ukraine will be Chechnya x 100 for Russia. Endless droves of dead Russian soldiers succumbing to guerrilla attacks for decades to come.

Georgia is deep in with the EU, has talked about NATO before. Obvs Turkey is EU aligned. As would West Ukraine if any kind of peace . Putin's lost already. His deep sea port on crimea is already surrounded by countries that align with the EU, its legal norms, plus the eventual option of NATO membership.