Russia and Ukraine flashpoint

[RolStoppable]

Ryuu96 said:

You know if Navalny's death does prompt stronger action then great but at the same time it would be so utterly ridiculous on the West's part that the death of a single man would push them and not the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians or the attempted takeover of an entire country, I get the anger over Putin killing him, it's dumb as shit for it to cause a push for further action though.

Yet another example of the West being reactive instead of proactive.

It sure would be ridiculous, but then again, the West (read: the countries that do not share a border with Russia) has created a bubble where they've patted themselves on the back for making decisions that were objectively way overdue. Also, they've been more focused on Putin and Russia than Ukraine at all times. We've got quotes like "Putin shall not get embarrassed" which was utterly ridiculous when on the other side of this equation thousands of people had to die.

What's true in Germany is that the country's political leaders, regardless of party, have a tremendous focus on polling since more than a decade. Meaning that the government typically does not lead, but rather goes with the flow of the popular opinion. In that sense, repeated news of Nawalny's death can really have some sway, because it's a reminder of how much of a scumbag Putin is. And with the USA being put on hold due to republicans, Scholz can't really fall back on his typical excuse of not doing anything without his partners. Man, that would be ironic; if Russia's negative influence in the USA suddenly makes the decision-making in Europe more ballsy.