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PaperclipPerfector  6d ago (text post)   2935 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 19, 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?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Do you think that Trump's strategy in Ukraine is just him messing with EU leaders, because he knows how much hate and contempt they and their societies feel towards him (and showed it during 2016-2024) and he just enjoys their squeals? Dangling some help and resolution that will never materialize, especially since Europe is no longer of interest for USA.

There aren’t a lot of good solutions for Ukraine. It’s like trying to give a mouse stuck in a glue trap helpful advice on how to get out. The only way for Ukraine to actually win would be to send half a million NATO troops to openly fight the Russians in Ukraine. That would be dicey for multiple reasons. Other than that, you can continue military aid and hope for the best. Trump doesn’t like Zelensky, and he’s annoyed by the EU’s cheapskate attitude toward military spending. But he’s always been more pro-Ukraine than is widely reported, he was the first president to start sending them weapons.

There aren’t a lot of good solutions for Ukraine.

The only "realistic" solution for ukraine right now is Russia holds the territory (taking it back will be way too bloody), but forfeits the assets and pay additional hundred or two billion more over decades as reparations. Guess what - it is unacceptable for everyone.

Europe should just confiscate the Russian assets it has had frozen over the last few years and use them to arm Ukraine. Those add up to more than a hundred billion.

Money makes for poor munitions.

They could simply pay $500k to every deserting Russian soldier. That's 200000 deserters. Could have somewhat of a cobra effect, though.

Imagining a world where wars are settled by each side bidding on each others deserters

I’m pretty sure a couple of Roman wars were settled this way.

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