Quote Originally Posted by Dorcus View Post
I don't think it's a clear cut scenario. The chances are that no matter what the West did short of military resistance nothing would have stopped Putin. Many commentators think he would not have been fazed by even the most severe sanctions.

I was just pointing out how difficult this is for any leader to deal with. There might have been a possibility that if the West had stuffed Ukraine with troops Putin might have considered this too much of a challenge and backed off. On the other hand he might have retaliated and soon it might have escalated beyond control. I'm just glad I don't have to make the decisions.
No I get that. It is a very tricky one for sure now….but My frustration is the build up has been happening for months and the threat of sanctions and all that jazz just wasn’t going to work.
I understand Ukraine isn’t part of NATO so clearly not covered by article 5 however Biden and Co have been saying for months that he’s going to invade, they knew it.
So why wasn’t force threatened that if a sovereign nation, part of Europe if invaded will be met by force by the international community rather than sanctions which could take months.
Putin is done now. Even China is on the 50/50 and they normally back him with everything.