1. Fair enough that Russia also gets a say in how this ends, though sanction repeal offers could have an effect on that.
Could... but then again, that would require a more general thaw in relations between Russia and the West, which is something which would require changes in Russia in internal and foreign policy, and an end to war in Ukraine, by win, loss, stalemate or whatever, would not be that, at least not by itself, as it would in no way prevent Russia from doing all sorts of other things it could do or is already doing in its related "cold war" with the West.
It would be hilariously incompetent to lift sanctions on Russia as a compromise on ending Ukraine war, just so that Russia can have 5 years or so to restock western industrial and military tech component warehouses, refill the war chest, and try again, in Ukraine, or, say, Georgia, or somewhere else. I think some sort of political changes in Russia would be a prerequisite for repealing at least some more sensitive sanctions.
2. What I meant by stable equilibrium is that all that stuff led neither to war nor to permanent changes in the status quo. It's a lot easier to peck away at a land border. (On the other hand, NK and SK managed it, but IMO a lot of that had to do with the Cold War and neither patron being willing to risk escalation to WWIII.)
Yup, the sea really made border changes harder, and there was some mad shit happening between NK and SK, like tunnel commando raids and abductions, and that was despite US troops stationed in SK.
