I was about to say the same thing.
"Empress" Merkel is powerless against Putin.
If she is the leader of Europe, then she should show decisive resolve when there is a violation of territorial integrity in Europe. Russia just showed a big middle finger to the EU and the US.
The problem is that Europe has been spoiled by, and addicted to, US leadership. When Serbia -- backed by Russia -- went on a genocidal rampage in the former Yugoslavia, the Europeans were sitting around twiddling their thumbs. It took the US to show leadership and stop the Russian proxies in Belgrade.
Now, once again, the Western Europeans are caught with their pants down and they have no plan of action. They can't even agree on an economic penalty, never mind a military confrontation. The US has a self-imposed mission to maintain lone hegemony and deny Russia's global ambitions. However, it has also decided that it won't keep coming and saving Europe -- the Europeans need to start lifting their own weight.
Putin is very smart man and he pre-calculated this division between the EU and US. That's why he made his move, knowing the consequences would be minimal.