Putin is now hearing from the EU that he will have to reckon with sanctions should he attack Ukraine.
The West shows great unity on the fundamental question.
From Washington to Brussels, Russia is being warned loudly and clearly against changing the borders in Eastern Europe again.
This is supposed to have a preventive effect, because in previous crises Putin has taken the West by surprise again and again.
So far it is difficult to say whether it will make an impression.
The number of troops on the border with Ukraine is apparently continuing.
The Kremlin ruler does not give up his greatest (and only) trump card anytime soon.
What the West would do in detail if Putin did not allow himself to be deterred has not yet been spelled out.
This is not only due to the fact that a certain lack of clarity is a tactical advantage.
Regarding the old controversial issue of Nord Stream 2, the new federal government has not yet responded to the concerns of many other EU member states, especially in Eastern Europe, despite all its European political vows.
For someone who calculates as coolly as Putin, that could lead to the impression that the price for Ukraine might not be excessively high after all.
In any case, the price for “state terrorism” established by a court on German soil was such that Moscow will not have any serious worries about Germany's now “value-based” foreign policy.