just a revisit to an older notable given Ukraine Hoopla
12-9-2021
Biden assures Ukraine’s leader of US support to deter Russia
https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-russia-ukraine-europe-vladimir-putin-8193787ec21ca2aded4a37fa325f07b5
Administration officials have suggested that the U.S. will press Ukraine to formally cede a measure of autonomy within its eastern Donbas region, which is now under de facto control by Russia-backed separatists who rose up against Kyiv in 2014.
Decentralization of Ukraine and a “special status” for Donbas were laid out in an ambiguous, European-brokered peace deal in 2015, but it has never taken hold.
More autonomy could formally give residents of that region more authority over some local issues. The administration officials made no mention of ceding any territory.
Biden also will have to finesse Ukraine’s desire to join NATO. The U.S. and NATO reject Putin’s demands that they guarantee Ukraine won’t be admitted to the Western military alliance.
But senior State Department officials have told Ukraine that NATO membership is unlikely to be approved in the next decade, according to a person familiar with those private talks who spoke on condition of anonymity.