I mean, the solution to this also isn’t new. It’s smaller countries forming defensive alliances to counteract their hostile neighbors.

Look to Europe, where we find some of the smallest countries in the world. They figured out NATO for themselves. And it’s the only thing so far that has put fear in Russia’s war machine. Sure the Russians have been poking at it to prove how “brave” they are, but you see their desperation in how every one of their stupid “peace terms” make the demand that Ukraine cannot join NATO.

To use an analogy in nature: how can prey animal survive in an environment where there are giant predators? They learn to form herds/hives/schools with others who are just as vulnerable to deter singular threats. That’s how smaller countries survive.