But they do have a choice, and that is one of surrender. If this soldier had put up a white flag, he would be alive today. Instead he chose to eat a grenade.

I have a hard time coming to terms psychologically with the latter part of your post, personally, about whether this particular soldier deserved what happened. As a human being, of course not, all should have the opportunity to be free and flourish. But as an extension of his government’s warpath lunacy, yes, he did.

At the end of the day, the ultimate blame, and the person for whom these poor people are dying, falls to Putin, but the choice is ultimately still up to the individual soldier: surrender, leave, or die.