That's how many 21st century Americans think, but not how I expected Ukrainians to think. I was raised to eat what I was given, and when I became a vegetarian my family thought I was being ridiculous and even mildly offensive. My grandfather would tell me how people could only have moral objections to food because they had never been hungry. I'm sure he would have said "pragmatism" meant that a soldier eats whatever is edible.

When I said "Soviet culture" I was referring to the way people behave in their daily lives, not to their political beliefs (although my impression is that even the few communist true-believers left at the end were still culturally much more similar to other Soviet immigrants than to Americans).

I would guess that there are many different roles in the military that isn't about shooting enemies in the face with a rifle, like communication, logistics, clearing mines and many more. Ukraine is also conscripting so even if you would rather not be in the military you might not have a choice. Having food that aligns with people's personal beliefs show that they actually respect their citizens beliefs in the ways they can even in the shitty situation that has been forced upon them. Russia would probably not do this.