Another way to put this is:
Are these atrocities something that were caused by conditions, or did the Russian troops show up this way?
I imagine if you're in an advanced society and if you see your friends blown to bits you'd be wanting to lash out. A bizarre coping mechanism it is but if you have the wherewithal to inflict pain and no authority preventing it and are conditioned to have never had to deal with the trauma...yeah I can see it.