What must be Europe's geopolitical position in relation to democracy and its business policy towards Russia?

Economic necessity will trump and always erode lofty political pronouncements.

The Europeans are wide awake to the obvious risks (finally), and are already shifting their energy supply away from Russian sources :

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2022/02/19/russia-ukraine-conflict-von-der-leyen-discusses-gazprom-energy-sanctions.html

“We had now, in January, the highest amount of energy deliveries [from elsewhere], and we know by now that if there is a decoupling of Russian gas as a retaliation, we are able to make it through this winter without Russian gas but with supply from others and this is good,”

It is simple, really. Imagine this:
Operation Barbarossa…
2.

^Can you give information about that operation? I haven’t heard of it.

@Hawaii_Jake
That was the codename for the invasion of the Soviet Union by Hitler.

To what degree did Putin talk this idea over with Trump before the attemeptd coup last January? Remember that Trump admires Putin (and is probably in debt to him for one thing or another).

If Trump were still president, Putin would have already invaded and Trump would have been cheering him on. Trump likes dictators and strongmen.

Europe can blame itself for this debacle. Instead of creating its own defensive capabilities over the last 50 years, the built the stupid-ass EU legal system, totally forgot about armies and fighting wars, screwed up on Brexit, and depended on the US for its protection.

The EU bureaucrats and the leaders of major European countries (Greece, ITALY, France, and especially Germany) are to blame. The forgot European history.

@elbanditoroso It isn’t that simple. Unfortunately, Western Europe isn’t where the oil and gas exist in surplus. In regard to those strategic commodities, the future regarding the implementation of sanctions will sure as shit go exactly the way as the import and distribution of heroin or cochise only the hypocrisy will be virtually out in the open and flagrant as hell.

Sure, it isn’t that simple. But ignoring Europe’s own missteps is only seeing half the picture. THose missteps set the stage for today. And it goes back 20–25 years.

My autocorrect keeps choosing my words. How the fk do you translate cocaine to cochise? The damned thing even neglected to capitalize it. Gotta to figure out how to turn it off.