Do you think Ukraine can persuade Putin to call off the invasion? If they didn’t defend themselves, they’d be a Russian province or puppet state today.

That’s always the unfortunate downside of relying on only persuasion. Some people will just take what they want if you don’t force them to stop.

Just read about how well persuasion (aka “appeasement”) worked in the buildup to WW2. Spoiler: it didn’t.