> I feel like the US military would have to be completely incompetent to not be able to easily dismantle them at this point considering the size of their budget.
Or, you know, unwilling to start a nuclear war.
Which dismantling the 50%+ of Russia's conventional military committed to Ukraine would very possibly lead to.
I don't think what the EU and US are doing in Ukraine can be termed appeasement. Punishing sanctions, rumblings of NATO and EU expansions, open and extensive weapons transfers, and full-throated support of the Ukrainian government is hardly what we did in Czechoslovakia.
The "we will go to open war with you" line is the borders of NATO and the EU, which haven't currently been violated. It's not an unreasonable line to draw, given the potential consequences of nuclear armed states doing battle.
Or, you know, unwilling to start a nuclear war.
Which dismantling the 50%+ of Russia's conventional military committed to Ukraine would very possibly lead to.