My guess is Putin is holding so much on Brandon that Brandon doesn't dare commit the US. It looked like NATO was trying to push for a meaningful military response, but they couldn't do that without the US. Anything NATO is now finished. That career niche is up in smoke. Learn to code.
Have to look hard at Germany, too. They fell out of step with NATO. The new government has Greens, and the Foreign Minister is a dyed in the wool green who campaigned as the one to stand up to Putin. Piece of work, IMO. She went to Moscow to meet with Lavrov Tuesday last. No big reports of the result from what I've seen. Next day Spiegel broke a story reporting she was being investigated for embezzling Covid stimulus money. Boss says there ain't no coincidences, so I'm sticking to that. Greens will never set foot in government again if it comes to black/brownouts, They talked a good game. Shouldn't smack talk about Herr Putin to get votes, it'll bite you in the ass someday.
Now Ric Grennell is on Germany's ass from the US side for buckling. My experience is Germans, especially politicians, don't handle competent people on their ass well. Ric knows exactly what he's doing, been around the block over there. Germany will blow.
Goal probably is to wipe out the NATO scam. Germany has nothing military-wise. I seent reports they fly ADAC (like the US AAA car breakdown outfit) helicopters to train pilots. Germany is going to have to get along with Russia to keep the heat on, thus break with Brandon's US Putin rag. Putin's leading them all around by the nose, while Ric is telling them to sac the fuck up. It's a tag team act meant to humiliate them, as I see it.
Article last week in a big German paper about the Covid protests not being Covid protests. Germans across the board have given up on their government being able to help them in anyway. It's not a right/left thing. It's everyone.
We'll see.