What should be done about Russia and Ukraine?

[tech3149]

15. Explaining my take on the situation will open me up to considerable ridicule, but here goes!

Any honest understanding of the situation is meaningless without informed historical context. Just in the most recent sense you must understand the discussions at the reunification of Germany. The agreement was on the condition that NATO would not expand its influence eastward. That agreement was not honored. Ukraine became a red line that was crossed by the EU, NATO, and the US.
Consider the viewpoint of the Russian government. Nations and organizations that have an institutionalized adversarial attitude toward you expand their influence and attempt to isolate you from normal relationships with other nations in the region. What would your reaction be?
The EU motivation for bringing Ukraine into their economic sphere of influence offered virtually nothing to Ukraine but would have the dual benefit to the EU of isolating them from Russia economically and providing another sacrifice region like Greece to prop up a failing economic structure. The neoliberal policies will impose austerity and privatization that will do nothing to improve Ukraine's economic situation but will certainly enrich even further the oligarchs that got rich after the fall of the Soviet Union.
What is the purpose of maintaining NATO in today's world? It was formed at a time when Soviet Russia was considered a threat of regional and global war by most everyone. The only logical reason I can see for its continued existence is the deluded persistence of cold warriors in determining foreign policy. That mentality will only serve to assure that other parts of the world will see the US as a threat and will deal with us as such. Time to quit pissing in other peoples sandbox and acting surprised when they get upset.

My apologies for not getting more specific and with reference resources. There are so many areas of import that I try to inform myself about I would spend most of my day and fill up a hard drive to maintain and manage it all.