Nonsense. That's not what they say when they are free to talk about the situation without some Russian or DNR good looking at them during the interview.
This has never been about black hats vs white hats. These people have never known democracy and freedom, so they’ll take what they can get. Unlike Hitler marching in and being welcomed by many only to squander away all the good will, Putin is doing this smartly. Yeah these people are easily manipulated, but I guess they prefer troops handing out food and water vs handing out bullets and bombs, which is all Zelensky and his attack dogs have given them in the last 8 years.