I normally don't pay much stock to mainstream media articles on the war, but this article brings up an interesting possibility.
Here Are 3 Ways to End the War in Ukraine.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/08/18/how-to-end-ukraine-war-00111752
TLDR: There are 3 possibilities of this war ending favorably.
1. Ukraine militarily takes back all their territory including Crimea - will obviously be hard to achieve and dependent on a lot of factors including continued Western support and the political situation in Russia.
2. There is a diplomatic solution where Russia withdraws and returns all children taken. Very unlikely as Putin will keep fighting no matter the cost as long as there is a possibility that Western support falters.
3. Intriguing 3rd possibility. Ukraine is given the support it needs to eventually expel Russia. Sometime next year, Ukraine would declare a pause in offensive military operations and shift its primary focus to defending and rebuilding liberated areas while integrating with Western institutions. Then, at its July, 2024 summit in Washington, NATO would invite Ukraine to join the Western alliance, guaranteeing the security of all territory controlled by the Ukrainian government at that point under Article 5 of the NATO treaty.
Offering Article 5 protection to Ukrainian territory in this fashion would be akin to admitting a divided Germany to NATO after World War II and to America’s security pact with South Korea after the armistice that halted the Korean War without reunifying the Korean Peninsula. This would be a defensive pact, but not a commitment to take direct part in any future offensive operations Ukraine might choose to undertake.
This approach would not require Ukraine to cede any territory to Russia (contrary to what a NATO official suggested recently.) Ukraine and its allies would continue to pursue the country’s reunification within its 1991 borders.
And also mitigate any declining support a Trump presidency can do due to NATO treaty.