I think what grandparent is very very fucking poorly trying to say is, Germany/EU could've accepted the "annexation" of Ukraine like it did Crimea in 2014. "Bad Putin! But what can we do."
replyThey could've even sold weapons to Russia. There wouldn't have ever been German soldiers in Ukraine though.
replyGermany is in no position to go against the USA's geopolitical interests. Sure, they do trade shenanigans sometimes, like with Russian gas, but the relationship with Russia was pretty good before Putin decided to hold power endlessly - he even gave a speech (in German) in the parliament. But in the end of the day, those times are over; only extremist parties are pro-Russian, and Germany still has the 2nd largest US Army presence, including 15-20 US nuclear bombs parked here. It's unthinkable that any government here would go against "Western" interests and support Russia.
replyBut which USA are you talking about? Currently it is ruled by such an extremist party where some members declared love for Putin (and others are cowardly just "following orders" because they like their power and paycheck).
replyThe former Warsaw Pact countries are aware capitulating to Putin would mean they're next, so they're vocal against EU surrender. Further, if East Europe gets threatened, West Europe knows it'll have a mother of a refugee crisis - even if Ukraine falls they'll have one.
Anyway, that's all to say currently USA's geopolitical interest seems to be "Trump Tower Moscow", and Germany is not going to go along with that.