Chances are that if Russia was taking a good beating, it would have used nukes. It signaled that plenty of times. The strategy with Russia is to arm Ukraine so that the ultimate Russian defeat comes little by little, akin to the proverbial boiling of a frog.

Separately, the actual leadership of Nato is on the other side of the Atlantic. Everything that Germany, or France or the UK, or any other Nato member does, needs to be sanctioned in Washington. If Germany was perceived to be slow, at least part of the reason for that lies in Washington.