I agree. Clausewitz famously described war as politics by other means; there is a lot of selective memory for the original political goals of Putin’s invasion. Once it was clear he couldn’t compel Ukraine to be a Russian satellite state by force, he resorted to the land grab strategy his military is pursuing today.

Though note that Putin hasn’t given up on his maximalist war aims - he still demands a different government in Kyiv. It’s one of the reasons peace is far out of reach.