By Steve Rosenberg
Russia Editor
When his son was sent to fight in Ukraine, Sergei begged him not to go.
"You've got relatives there. Just refuse," Sergei recalls telling Stas, who was already an army officer. "But he said he was going. He believed it was right. I told him that he was a zombie. And that, unfortunately, life would prove that."
Sergei and Stas are not the real names of this father and son. We've changed them to protect their identities. Sergei has invited us to his home to tell us their story.
"So off he went to Ukraine. Then I started getting messages from him asking what would happen if he refused to fight."