NATO should be shooting down ALL Russian planes crossing into Ukraine/Donbas/Crimea and eliminating the Russian fleet in the Black Sea.
All without saying a word about it. If asked, well, we are investigating, blah, blah, we'll get back to you in 3 months (or when we are done).
I think that most normally wired people tend to trust and respect people who do what they say and say what they do , and don't those who weasel around doing sneaky creepy things which harm others. That's probably why Russia is gaining worldwide respect and the 'collective West' is losing it.
It is amazing to see how some cultures are so proud of things like using other third-party aircraft to hide behind when they do stand-off missile attacks, then are so pleased about how clever they are. As if you need special 'chosen' brain-power to think up the strategy of using innocent third-parties as human shields. Disgusting, and especially so because it only works when the adversary is somewhat ethical and resistant to harming said third-parties.
Sadly for the 'collective West' and the U.S. in particular, they are currently led/controlled/owned by people who have the sneaky-creepy mentality. It makes us all look bad, makes it a lot harder to negotiate since it's pointless to make agreements with liars, and puts us all in danger. It takes a long time to build a reputation as a straight-shooter and only a short time to lose it.
If I were a Russian, I would be pleased with Putin for at least developing Russia's reputation no matter what I thought of his politics. I am an American, and I've been so disappointed by the reputation we've developed that I left the place. At least that was one of the reasons.
Sneaky surprise attacks and denials against adversaries using hidden proxy forces pretty much guarantee an increased rate of 'spillover' as Russia, Iran, Germany(!) etc are unlikely to tolerated them indefinitely, but spillover and conflagration seem to be exactly what those who've attained power to call the shots in the West badly want/need.
This desperation on the part of the West for a response is probably why the strategists on the Russian side (and others) are biding their time. Don't give the enemy exactly what they are in need of at the moment; do it at a latter date when retribution is not useful to them. But do log the entry in a ledger.
Time is on the side of the Russian axis, and a large part of the reason why has to do with they being trustworthy partners with which to form an alliance.