The US-Russia summit lets Putin get back to the top table of international diplomacy and thumb his nose at critics. Here’s what else he stands to gain.

Ukraine has backed the previous U.S. demand for a full and immediate ceasefire, during which time a peace settlement can be reached. Putin has repeatedly dodged ceasefire proposals, suggesting that the "new territorial realities" of Russian occupation of swaths of southern and eastern Ukraine must be recognized as part of any settlement.