One of the developers of the game “STALKER died in the battles for Bakhmut

Just my two cents, but reading stuff like this makes me genuinely sad.

As someone who spent most of his work-life in conflict zones, every loss of human life in a war is tragic, but if being a soldier is not your job, and you don't receive constant training or work in the private sector and actually participated in conflicts before / are experienced in your trade, your place is not near or on the battlefield. War is not a video game.

Plenty of people I met participating in conflicts without any training or experience have this romantic view that it's honorable or demanded of them as citizens to actively help out their country or the military in case of conflict. But that's what you have an army for.

Modern battlefields are a meat grinder, dominated by threats that, as a soldier, you will most likely not see or hear until you are about to die. It's unnecessary and stupid that people with different talents in another trade die like this.

Deaths like this should serve as a warning for others not to make the same stupid decision.

Take care of your loved ones and keep them out of harms way. Sometimes this means temporarily leaving the country is the best decision, as it also enables your military to not have to worry about collateral damage.

Bakhmut is where Russia is concentrating its recently conscripted forces.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/12/22/bakhmut-is-...