Putin called the Wests bluff and they blinked. I think Merkel...

Putin called the Wests bluff and they blinked.
I think Merkel has doomed Europe for decades, due to her appeasement of Russia. Just like we are stuffed without China, Germany is stuffed without Russian energy. They have no alternative supply for gas as they don't have enough terminals to ship it in. I think Putin chose the timing to ensure it is still too cold in Europe to switch of the gas.
What if Putin moves nukes to the Ukrainian border with Poland? He's about to put them in Belarus, therefore he is going to have a nuke buffer and once in there he's not going to leave quickly. If he has nukes in Ukraine and moves on Moldova or one of the smaller states, will NATO move? I doubt it. No doubt NATO will whinge and cry foul, but you reap what you sow.
BTW, rocket man will have learned a lesson from Ukraine. Don't give up your nukes on the guarantee of security from the west. It won't be honoured. Just like Ukraine, anybody that trusts the US or NATO is dreaming. I hope ScoMo is taking note, if it's us, or a ding dong with Xi, then we're stuffed. Our saving grace is our pollies have already sold the family farm to China, so no need to invade as all we have left is a few giant quarries.

Brexit may be the Uk's saving grace. More luck than judgement, but sometimes you take all the good luck you get.