The Kremlin has its own brutal way of greeting Western gatherings.
Just in time for the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Bucharest, another air alert was reported from Ukraine.
The fact that Putin is attacking civilian targets also shaped Western statements and commitments at the meeting.
In the meantime, it is no longer just about military aid for Ukraine, but also about repairing the civilian infrastructure.
Foreign Minister Baerbock assessed Putin's attempt to use "cold as a weapon of war" as a "brutal break not only with international law but with our civilisation".
This should probably refer to the term "civilization break", which is often used in political German for the Holocaust.
Other German politicians, including the Chancellor, have also used this expression in connection with Putin's attack on the neighboring country.
Against the rules of law and decency
When politicians deal with such categories, they are treading on thin historical ice.
In this case, too, one cannot equate the crimes of that time with those of today.
But in a literal sense, Putin's actions are the polar opposite of civilized behavior, there should be no doubt about that.
With the unprovoked, brutal attack on a neighbor and the shelling of civilian targets, Russia reneged from the first day of the war on the rules that provide for the law and decency in traffic between peoples.
In Bucharest, where the Alliance is meeting, she once promised Ukraine admission.
What was never carried out was, in retrospect, the first major mistake in the long Western policy of appeasement towards Putin.
Now, too, NATO is once again putting off Kiev's application.
Accession is not possible during a war, but at some point the question of how Ukraine's security can be guaranteed in the long term must be answered.