Nobody mentioned Yakuza? Any modern game in the series? (Edit: Ok, one guy did)
A guilty pleasure of mine is Majima Construction from Yakuza Kiwami 2, which is one if the few RTS I like. It’s unbalanced, and not even functioning properly, but it’s simple fun. I associate most RTS with commanding large squads of units and resource management, and a watered down version with few specific characters and one/two resources felt like a less overwhelming entry point into the genre.
I’d imagine Russians opposing the Ukraine war would especially be targets, maybe you misread the comment and the “bad take”? Trump would be eager to get rid of pro-Ukraine speakers for Putin.
(A source would be nice too)