Putin wants something beyond recognition and global symbols.

He aspires to victory. He has insisted that Russia retain all the territory it has seized and occupied in four Ukrainian provinces (Zaporizhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson) and that Kyiv abandon the areas of those provinces still under Ukrainian control. This is unacceptable for Ukraine. "Ukrainians will not surrender their territories to the invader," declared the nation's president, Volodymyr Zelensky. The Kremlin knows this. However, if Trump supports their territorial claims, it is estimated that Ukraine's refusal could lead Trump to withdraw all support for Kyiv. Meanwhile, the United States and Russia would continue to promote their relations and foster economic cooperation. However, there is another situation. Russia's economy is under pressure. Revenues from oil and gas sales are falling while the budget deficit is rising. If economic conflicts are putting pressure on Putin to end the war, the Kremlin could surrender. So far, no evidence has been given to the contrary, as Russian officials continue to claim that Russia still has the upper hand on the battlefield.