The situation isn't that much different.

"I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straight forward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialogue." -GWB

There's not much we can do to prevent Putin from doing anything he wants. All we can do is make him wish he hadn't done it.

Of course, in order to do anything at all, both the Europeans and the American Congress and people have to be on board. I wouldn't hold my breath. The Europeans don't want to rock the boat; they're too chickenshit to hurt their economies or piss off the Russkis, and the Congress will do anything that makes Obama look bad, or will mean trouble for his his Democratic successor. They didn't back him on Syria, I don't think they will in Europe. They better hope they lose in 2016 if Putin really goes on the warpath, or they're going to have to deliver.

Hopefully, Putin will pay for his short term gains with long term losses. Whatever is left of Ukraine after he's done carving it up will be dying to join NATO, as will the rest of the former satellite states, and maybe the Europeans will start rearming.

No one will trust Putin any more, and his trade partners in W EU will start looking for other sources of oil, if they're smart. Of course, smart always takes a back seat when corporate profit is threatened. Putin will rebuild the old Soviet empire with cheap oil, not tanks.