In 2013 we all still believed that Putin wasn't the madman that he has turned out to be. I remember thinking that our biggest threats were right wing terrorists, Iranian nukes, and maybe North Korea. Sure we had seen what happened to Abkhazia and South Ossetia in 2008, but I don't think anybody in the NATO countries saw that as the test it turned out to be. My point being that when Snowden flew to Russia in 2013, intent on seeking asylum, it may not have been his first choice, but it was as crazy an idea as it would be today..

With that said, I'd like to relate to some your post:

What I am saying is it is legitimate to criticize him and highlight his collaboration with the russians.

Sure, it's legitimate to criticize anything. But without taking all the circumstances into account, the critique loses relevance. At least for me it does, and that's what I'm arguing.

Well let me tell you as someone living in Ukraine (and was born in Donbas with my hometown being occupied in 2014 and relatives having to leave everything because of the russian occupation);

This is on a completely unrelated note. I'd like to apologize to you and every other Ukrainian, for the incompetence of my country's politicians. We promised you +100 leopard 1 tanks, but due to the ineptitude of our politicians, their investments, and the resulting organization, we haven't been able to deliver a single working tank. Whenever our politicians "donate" equipment it is blown out of proportions by our media. But when it comes to delivering useful kit, it fails over and over again. Rest assured that our present government is not going to be reelected. Their replacement will not be competent either though. Anyway, I wish we would do more than ship you our outdated equipment like it was some sort of humanitarian mission. It's not a humanitarian mission, it's fucking war and half assing war is stupid... Slava Ukraini! And death to Russian orks.

You full well know that there are real consequences from Snowden's collaboration with the russians.

And we're back in the discussion at hand :) the only consequences I can think of, that comes from Snowden collaboration is the propaganda tool he is now, and the intelligence he had to offer 11 years ago. Disregard him to mitigate the propaganda consequences.

I hope that whatever intel Snowden gave the Russians, it was limited. I think that a person with Snowden's background would be able to encrypt the information he traveled with properly.

I'd like to know if I've missed something here. I really don't mean to troll you. If you believe that I'm misinformed, please inform me.

Trying to survive is fair. But putting him on the pedestal and labelling him as "untouchable saviour who can do wrong" is not normal.

I don't think that I'm putting Snowden on a pedestal. All I'm saying is that, like everyone else in Russia, who have a public profile, Snowden knows that he can either toe the party line, or plunge to his death from a basement window. What we really need to do, is to realize that anything coming from the mouths of anybody in Russia, is the result of a proverbial gun to their heads and should be treated thusly.