He did upend his entire life to stand up for something he believed in and now is in the sights of the US gov until the day he dies. The fact that he does not also want to be a sacrificial lamb to speak out on Ukraine doesn’t really compromise that fact in my mind.

Snowden is not seeking death, he seeks justice. You won't get the latter by speaking up against a dictator while being in his hands.

Snowden didn't choose Russia, the USA chose for him by cancelling his passport (!).

I guess it beats Venezuela, Iran, North Korea or other places less comfortable.

Much easier to get out of harm's way when you've already got the example of Manning showing you that you need to.

What has he said that you consider ‘idiotic’?

The term "useful idiot" refers to Lenin - basically it is folks who might not be for the communist cause but are propaganda tools and usually ignorant they are being used.

The term "useful idiot" was invented by conservatives in the West during the Cold War, as a slur against social democrats.

Lenin never used it. It didn't even exist during his lifetime.

It was a slur against collaborators with communism, not against social democrats: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2019/08/22/useful-idiot/

The slur was originally directed against social democrats by conservatives who accused them of helping communism.

Later, the term became a much more general slur used by conservatives against anyone who wasn't sufficiently "tough" against the USSR.