Are we ..

Madness.

All in and looks as if he Putin, is holding the cards, warning ⚠️ against external intervention...how strong are the rest of the world to stand up against this bloke wishing to turn the clock back 70 years

Well, if Russian forces cross into a NATO country then it's going to be frightening. He will take Ukraine, then we shall see if the West will grind him down economically.

Let's hope so.

I believe the German constitution is set up to not engage in warfare physically, but to "aid " their allies,not sure what that means, as to war, can't see that happening, monetarily wise, pretty sure with all the crooked state funded thieves they will get by initially, depends on how aggressive they are and the amount of bloodshed,and then how long they can get by without" the people are starving" effect with no imports if the west stand up to their words, but obviously this is a well,long term plan and Putin will have in place " rations"

I guess this is obvious but

"Next, the West has shown a total lack of action so far. Will this be the green light for China to invade Taiwan?"

The Chinese will watch what we do with interest.
I do fear we are in a big battle to defend liberal democracy from fascist states like Russia and China.

Late Edit.
I should have added, "defend from internal populist right wingers, the like of which we are witnessing in the USA"

The MOEX Russia Index is down 40% today. It's basically crashing. It's their biggest slump on record, and it's only 10.30am !.....sorry, make that 43.5%. It's going down as I type !

“For those who ask: “Why does Ukraine matter? “

This is why Ukraine matters.

It is the second largest country by area in Europe and has a population

of over 40 million - more than Poland.

Ukraine ranks:

1st in Europe in proven recoverable reserves of uranium ores;

2nd place in Europe and 10th place in the world in terms of titanium ore reserves;

2nd place in the world in terms of explored reserves of manganese ores (2.3 billion tons, or 12% of the world's reserves);

2nd largest iron ore reserves in the world (30 billion tons);

2nd place in Europe in terms of mercury ore reserves;

3rd place in Europe (13th place in the world) in shale gas reserves (22 trillion cubic meters)

4th in the world by the total value of natural resources;

7th place in the world in coal reserves (33.9 billion tons)


Ukraine is an important agricultural country:

1st in Europe in terms of arable land area;

3rd place in the world by the area of black soil (25% of world's volume);

1st place in the world in exports of sunflower and sunflower oil;

2nd place in the world in barley production and 4th place in barley exports;

3rd largest producer and 4th largest exporter of corn in the world;

4th largest producer of potatoes in the world;

5th largest rye producer in the world;

5th place in the world in bee production (75,000 tons);

8th place in the world in wheat exports;

9th place in the world in the production of chicken eggs;

16th place in the world in cheese exports.

Ukraine can meet the food needs of 600 million people.


Ukraine is an important industrialised country:

1st in Europe in ammonia production;

Europe's 2nd’s and the world’s 4th largest natural gas pipeline system;

3rd largest in Europe and 8th largest in the world in terms of installed capacity of nuclear power plants;

3rd place in Europe and 11th in the world in terms of rail network length (21,700 km);

3rd place in the world (after the U.S. and France) in production of locators and locating equipment;

3rd largest iron exporter in the world

4th largest exporter of turbines for nuclear power plants in the world;

4th world's largest manufacturer of rocket launchers;

4th place in the world in clay exports

4th place in the world in titanium exports

8th place in the world in exports of ores and concentrates;

9th place in the world in exports of defence industry products;

10th largest steel producer in the world (32.4 million tons).


Ukraine matters. That is why its independence is important to the rest of the world.”

Copied from media post. (MSNBC)

We all want to live in peace Oldie. We don't want any war's, especially in Europe. What we are witnessing is basically a Bank Raid of the highest order.

"Thanks for the detail.
I hope we are not defending Ukraine (to the degree that we are) for those reasons. Rather than to defend the right of Ukrainians to choose their own path."

I'm glad you think like that Oldie. It's the same principle as the people of the UK deciding to leave the EU. However, I'm not that sure about you personally defending the right of British people to choose their own path.