Yes, Ukraine is suffering. And obviously, they want the killing to stop. But Russia’s negotiating position here is absurd. Their talking points are just being parroted by U.S. stooges. But - no serious minded person thinks Russia is likely to abide by any agreement anyways, especially one without HARD security guarantees for Ukraine’s sovreignty. U.S. and Russian pressure to sign a bad deal seems on it’s face desperate, given their obvious original war aims of complete national conquest and annhiliation of Ukrainian society.
Russia only neogtiates when they think they can’t simply seize more by force. They appear to be at that point, and post-war russia is going to be a chaotic mess. The reward of Donbas and Crimea, territory they’ve already essentially controlled for a decade, hardly seems worth all the losses they’ve taken militarily, economnically, politically and demographically
So what should Ukraine do? If they care about a lasting peace - stalling and continuing to bleed the Russian army might be the better option. These are not good peace terms. Yet.
The fact he is old is actually more dangerous to US democracy than if there was decades ahead of him.
When time passes, a dictator is caught up by politics, and his power decrease because other factions will have consolidated their power so an equilibrium that satisfies all factions is necessary, and is thus more complex than a dictatorship.
If it’s too soon after the start of the dictatorship, then the chaos still reign, and power still fall in the hand of the one who controls armed forces. Which is usually the last dictator alive after the succession war.
Everything goes down to what your army will be loyal to.