Thanks for that. A very good and fact based, neutral analysis.

So many times I've thought about what Russia could have done, rather than what they have. As much as I don't like what's happened, I don't believe they had a choice, if they want their country to survive. If they had sanctioned the EU, cutting off oil and gas, they would have been accused of using energy for warfare, as they're being wrongly accused now. The west would have acted by supporting an attack On Crimea or something like that. IOW, Russia would have been forced to react because that has always been the US/UK goal - to FORCE Putin to act. Nothing Russia could have done would have delayed this and anything Russia did or didn't do would have been met with more hostility because they are dealing with psychopaths.