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Originally Posted by Mick
Do you not think they would not retaliate with a Nuclear strike if confronted militarily, let's say if NATO was to attack them first ?
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Yes but I am not advocating a military strike against Russia.
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I seem to remember Europe and the previous U.S Administration doing very little to stop Putin Annexing Crimea. Why was that do you think ?
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The invasion was what provoked more sanctions. The invasion of Crimea cost the Russian economy badly:
https://tradingeconomics.com/russia/gdp look at what happened after 2014. It's far from 'nothing'. How many hits like that do you think Russians will take? Putin may be very powerful and immune to normal democracy but he still has to balance the interests of other powerful Russians and their people. His political capital to invade further is limited as a result.
If we had rolled over then he might have felt emboldened to take Eastern Ukraine too.
There is more than can be done. If Western Europe can help Eastern Europe reduce their dependence on Russian energy then the pressure can get worse.
There is a wide range of options between not rolling over and military action.