• themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    It’s entirely possible that the crew members were concerned about retribution back home for their families. It’s a rational concern, because they weren’t planning to abandon their homes and loved ones and leave them behind to live as the families of traitors under despotic rule. The pilot’s family left the country already.

    It’s also possible that the crewmembers were not killed, and that this is a cover story to protect their families.

    • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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      1 year ago

      Yeah if I was going to defect lying to say I was dead would be part of the deal.

      Assuming I couldn’t otherwise get my family out.

      • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        They might have also been unaware of the plan, and found themselves in Ukraine without a lot of options. It could be column A, we kill you, or column B, we tell everyone we killed you but we don’t. It’s not like they would send enemy soldiers home to keep fighting.