This was preventable.
On July 15, 2019, when the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty was still up in the air for a few days, I had emailed EU and Russian representatives in Switzerland jointly a plea, for whatever it was worth, to prevent the now current issue. Here some excerpts (I have edited out the proposal itself):
"judging from the astonishingly long and sometimes peculiarly specific list of parallels between today and the prewar years of both WWI and WWII, ample evidence of an imminent large-scale war is available"
"It may not mean that there will otherwise be that kind of war, but if the actions of humanity in the world form a system of which the current dynamics show a “soon world war” pattern, only a change of framework, caused by an atypical decision on a key issue or a key series of decisions can thwart the nearest path to the completion of the pattern in an unfolding of the mentioned unimaginable event."
"Of course, involved parties have a history together, with great trauma. Feelings that are anchored into guts and just won’t let go. What to do. Thinking about this in the following manner may help: each person is different at the core and is at another place in their own development, such that it is technically impossible to internally understand each other. Because of that, thinking in terms of “had I been in their shoes, I hadn’t done that” is invalid, and one is free to assume that one would have done exactly the same as them then, and consequently to reorient one’s focus toward a search for a structure in which parties can function and evolve as they are.
Furthermore and luckily, persons are capable of behaving in a variety of ways depending on the framework they are being immersed in. Because of that, change, albeit not easy, nor easily steered, is expectable."
"Today, such an attempt looks perilous, if at all possible. But consider the alternative.
Yes. The above-mentioned, not unlikely, infernal alternative. Which some may consider as a solution, but which not only morally but also from a systems point of view it is in the long term not."
"I hope all [EU] members and Russia will see what I see, therefore logically choose the above route, and approach life together with care and balance.
Best
Alève Mine
Disclaimer: The above is purely my personal candid feeling."
I hadn't identified myself as a policy advisor yet back then.