Russia - threadbanned users in OP

Germany remains the weak link and you can be certain that it is already working on ways to circumvent the sanctions, same as last time Russia was sanctioned.

As for the 100bn that was headline grabbing puff piece and the Ukraine will be waiting a long before useable military aid is delivered as promised from them.

Bravery or idiocy to return after his poisoning ?

3m people versus the combined total of 140m of Germany and Italy. They are not doing nothing and gas is the easier problem to solve. Bear in mind too that a virtual elimination of 10% of the world's supply would add even greater pressure to prices. Russia are already struggling to find buyers for its oil.

The Poles want to hit Putin while Russia is on the back foot, force an end to the conflict.

Germany want to ensure that Germany is not affected, no matter the devastation that approach causes to the Ukraine and to wider European economics in the long run.

They are being utterly cynical and keeping the hand open to Moscow. It's an exact replay of the post Crimea response from Berlin to Moscow, and it's undermining of sanctions.

What do you think Guantanamo Bay was?

There's plenty them around the world.

This conflict in the Ukraine has bugger all to do with either the Nazis or the Communists.

They're just cheap words for people to invoke because they don't have a clue what they're talking about.

LOL. Maybe you should educate yourself more on the subject? Why don't you start with Russian apartments bombings?

He is a very brutal and murderous man. Only such open actions now are not acceptable in a modern world....

Except the Polish bravado risks broadening the conflict. It's a time for further tweaking of sanctions and waiting. I see no cynicism in any country taking time to figure out how to replace 40% of its energy supplies. They are working on a plan, just one that is far more long-term than their hyper impatient neighbours.

Russians kill opponents usually in other countries. More difficult to blame them. He is much safer in prison or in gulag.

My Russian friends parents ( not all, but some definitely) would have been born during the communist times, so that would explain their attitudes, but as has been mentioned here several times, the younger generation are not fooled so easy, and they are not impressed by what the state controlled media is telling them. I remember being in restaurant's and bars, when the news would come on, and people would watch it, and then dismiss it with a flick of their hands. Even in the communist times, people knew it was buls*t, or as the workers used to say " They pretend to pay us, and we pretend to work...." The problem we have here in the west is the sheer amount of information freely available. Democracy means that everyone can have a viewpoint, for better or worse.

The gas side is the difficult one and can't be switched off straight away. Oil however could effectively be turned off with immediate effect.

Alternatives are available, it will cost more but it would have a far more dramatic effect on the Russian economy than the rest of the world.

If Iran are allowed to sell to the west again then their might not be cost issues. This is why the yanks are pushing to resolve things with them.

No need for that language projecting yourself.

Unfortunately they rushed head long in to changing over 40% of their electric power production without any concrete plan to replace it bar Merkel's reward after Crimea of approving Nord stream 2. I don't like coal or nuclear power but a replacement strategy outside of Uncle Vlad should have been considered.

Germany withholding aid, starting to roll back on defense spending, fighting sanctions again.

It's utterly transparent and cynical. They hope for a quick end and return to normality but that's rough on The Ukraine and all of us. They remain needing Russia goodwill and vulnerable to blackmail this winter.

It's the harvest they have sown, now they have to live with the consequences, as do we all unfortunately. Hiding from it makes it worse in the long run and only encourages Putin again.