Russia elites like to see the world in terms of Great Powers and power hierarchies. Big countries carve world between themselves, small ones just powerless watch.
Russian elites biggest fear is that people from below usurp powers of those above and overthrow them.
Euromaidan is an example of just such situation: common people removed privileged people with authority. To Russia that is unacceptable not from perspective of losing pro-Russian leaders but from perspective that it shows that common people have the power to remove authorities.
Russia would like to instil sense that common people are completely powerless and can do nothing against authorities. Big guys decide, small people just shut up and obey. If Kremlin fails to instil and maintains this idea among people in Moscow, they might try to overthrow Putin.
Ukraine is problem to Kremlin precisely because it is an example of people doing just that, overthrowing authority. To Moscow it would be better if it was a CIA coup. That way they can frame the whole thing not as an expression of popular will but as a game between big players
For Moscow it is much easier to take an L from the US and accept that CIA have outplayed them in Ukraine than accept that small common people just overthrew the government they did not like and replaced it with the one they choose. That is why Moscow keeps spreading these lies about CIA plot. It's the optics they want.
Because of the above, for Moscow a peace deal that favors Ukraine, that is signed bilaterally with Americans is better than a deal, more favorable to Russia, but signed with Ukrainians instead. That way Russia can maintain that even if Russia lost, they are still playing in the big league with the biggest guys out there. This big-league status is what it's all about, not a few provinces and towns in Ukraine. Russia wants its big-league status back.
That is why Russia is so dismissive of both Ukraine and Europeans. Signing anything with them will make Russia look like they are on the same level with these guys, not something Russia wants. Russia wants to be seen equal only to the US and above Europe and Ukraine
Because of that a peace deal that is acceptable to Russia has to look like the US and Russia are carving spheres of influence, and countries like Ukraine are mere pawns who fall one or another way and have no say in the matter.
Such peace deal can favour Ukraine and address some of Kyiv concerns, but it has to be worded as US demands to Russia, not Ukraine demands to Russia. Putin can accept demands from someone bigger but not from someone smaller. Losing to the US will not make him look like a pushover weakling. Losing to Ukraine will.
In soccer parallels if English National Team loses to German or Brazil, people will be upset but they will accept the results without much issue because Germany and Brazil are strong teams and you cannot win against them all the time. In contrast if English National Team loses to Wales, Albania or Andorra, fans will be shocked. How could England lose to someone this weak and small. Some soul searching will definitely follow.
There are no leagues on international level, but on national best teams play premier league and weaker ones are relegated to 2nd, 3rd and so on. Russia is concerned if they are still in Premier Leage or are they are being demoted.
In the same way when it comes to peace in Ukraine, Russia can accept a loss to the US but not to the EU or Ukraine. Peace deal has to be framed as Russian loss to Americans and signed biliteracy between the two. Ukraine and Europe have to be consulted on actual terms of the deal, but in the final text, it has to be worded in a way like the whole thing was written in Washington DC.
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