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PaperclipPerfector  2mo ago (text post)   2874 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for February 16, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

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One of my country prominent liberal politicians called the Ukraine army the best in Europe. Deadly serious and with a straight face. In a fit in a response to the USA actions lately.

Do you think there is any merit in that or early symptoms of USA derangement syndrome?

Discounting Russia, it's definitely the largest (googling provides 800k-900k troops vs closer to 200k each for France, Germany, Poland, Italy) and surely has the most combat veterans. Via aid, it's got a hodge-podge of tech and equipment but some of that stuff is advanced and high quality. Morale may be all over the place, but they've held on far far longer and better than most expected.
Given the length of time for training, the larger and richer other European countries could raise better militaries given a few years to build up, but they aren't there right now in Feb 2025.

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