Normally I would agree but:
“If you’re a soldier, and you’re ordered to fight by your country’s legitimate government” - but these aren’t professional soldiers, they’re conscripts; they’re being given illegal orders.
Even Russia apparently has laws against sending untrained conscripts into battle zones.
Putin sent them there on the false premise they were joining in on a cakewalk mission or a training exercise. Their families were told they’d be home in a couple of weeks tops.
The conscripts were sent to the front without any decent kit, without any decent training, they ran out of food a week ago and they ran out of fuel so quickly that they’ve had to bunker down in unheated tanks in subzero temperatures. I’ve seen pictures from the field of very young Russian soldiers who froze to death - they were manacled to their outdoor posts to stop them running off.
Some of the MREs the more lucky troops did have access to, turned out to be years past their use by date. Rumors abound that some of the food they were sent out with, was dog food.
You can argue Putin and his commanders didn’t think it’d last more than a week but it’s no excuse really.
At some point, quite understandably, these kids realise they’ve been totally betrayed. Some of the stories coming out sound like they’re from Blackadder - trying to invent creative ways to get injured and escorted to safety in Belarus.
One poor sod was left on his own in charge of a tank with Ukrainians all around I think after his senior officers just ran away. Ukrainians didn’t even have to ask him to surrender. The kid was clearly petrified, didn’t have a clue what to do. So he gets out of the tank, throws his gun down, and lays face down on the ground. Had absolutely no other option, and there was no point fighting back.
Some people say, well what about the Ukrainian conscript notice that prevents fighting age men from leaving? That’s not ideal but at least it has the moral defence of informed consent - Ukrainian conscripts know EXACTLY what they’re being asked to do, and unlike the Russian conscripts they were given options. So, many of them escorted their families to the western borders and saw them safely evacuated before turning round to defend the homes they’d left behind.
Ha. Good one there.