No, this war's pace, and likely it's victor, is likely to be dictated by two things, Western support, and weather.
And only one of those is in control of Ukraine and it's allies.
Weather/seasonal cycles dictate the pace of operations as much as any human factor, and do not care what flag you fly.
The decisive terrain is Crimea; there is no use trying to retake the Donbass in it's entirety until Crimea is retaken and secured, otherwise any Ukrainian forces trying to retake the Donbass will still be under fire from Russian aircraft and drones operating out of Crimea.
Retaking Crimea also first requires at least putting at risk the whole landbridge, if not cutting it entirely, and probably a few more strikes on the Kerch, if not destroying it entirely.
This is not going to be a fast war, it is not going to be 'decided' until Putin is dead or replaced and we see who his successor is and if they are more willing to accept Russia will never keep Ukraine's lands, even if it might take a few years for Ukraine to push Russia back out of them. I do not think the average person in Ukraine has any real desire to trust Russia's word on anything ever again, and they know anything less than the 1991 borders is just a delaying action for another invasion 5-8 years down the road. If Russia is able to keep any part of Ukraine, they will try for all of it eventually, and then they will begin work on it's neighbors.
The more support the west gives Ukraine, the more weapons and ammo they have, and the more pressure is put on places like India and the CCP to not do business with Russia, the better.