I can't see Putin doing any deals. As you've said, IF Crimea probably prefers being Russian anyway, he will see it as non negotiable, I know I would. I don't know the make up of Ukraine (for want of better wording) and whether there are other similar areas currently occupied by Russia that would feel the same. I just don't take the media narratives stance around all this, Ukranians may well want to be part of NATO and the EU, but I assume there will be some people within the boundaries of Ukraine that don't want that. It's a bit like asking an Englishman in Scotland if he wants independence, I'm not of the broadbrush approach thinking and often feel things are more complicated than this. Yeah Putin is a shhite and I'll repeat again he deserves a bullet to the head for the deaths he's caused, but in times of negotiation, I think Putin is going to want more than just Crimea. And while I think Putin is a shhite of the highest order, I don't particularly subscribed to the liking of Zelenssky either, just because our media chose to portray him as some kind of hero. Not suggesting for one moment my view is correct, I just question everything and question it again, it;s a bit like when you are a kid, the cowboys were the good guys and the indians the baddies, it's easy to get stereotyped into one version of events in life.
I think Putin will want the current occupied territory which in the grand scheme of things, considering what Russia originally wanted, would be a win for Ukraine.
They will essentially lose territory they haven't fully controlled for 10 years anyway.
