He always can paint a victory, at any moment. Even if he withdraw all forces from Ukraine he can declare a victory.

I'm not sure he wants to end this conflict. Ukraine is not allowed to use western weapons on rusia territory. so putin is in no personal danger. So the war can continue as long as there is cannon fodder.

Probably he may wants some pause for recovery,

BTW he already outlined the terms of the truce. Ukraine is giving up territory that's already occupied. That's 20%. We're not going to do that.