More and more reports related to this showing up. A sample, not to give
credence to any of the claims (but, LOTS of other reports -- and corroborating
video footage -- suggests "something is up"):

<https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/rest-of-the-world-news/vladimir-putin-has-multiple-health-issues-reveals-russian-oligarch-in-leaked-audio-tape-articleshow.html>

So, maybe he never sees Ukraine "welcomed back" into Russia.
Maybe he leaves the problem to his successor (?)

The question would then be, who is likely to succeed him and
would that person want to continue the insanity or "sue for peace"?

(Hard to imagine Ukraine saying "fine, you can keep the Donbas".
More than likely, "We'll keep up an insurgency into Crimea AND
the Donbas while going through the motions of talking about
peace. THEN, we'll take another 'referendum' on whether the
surviving people in those areas want to be part of Russia, or
not -- after we've hung all the traitors! :> )

And from a prior thread...

> foreign sanctions presiding over a plummeting Russian ruble...

Too many not-quite-grown-up suicidal people in the world.