Vladimir Putin - Perfecting Machiavelli to a Fault: Putin Bided His Time, Patiently Awaited The Perfect Moment, Saw His Ideal Opportunity, Then - At Length - Quickly Moved In, When the Way Was Clear: When the West/U S of A Had Effectively, Uncategorically Given the All-Clear...Realizing There'd Be No Repercussions For So Doing - Following the Publicly Given Verbal Assurance to People Worldwide That, In Any Event, They Wished to Avoid Nuclear War, Having No Intention to Initiate Such - and Accordingly, Inevitably, WW111 - If Russia Invaded Ukraine (As It Was Then Looking Increasingly Likely to Do)...

But what else could - any - American  government conceivably, responsibly do?