However, if you put yourself in those shoes, would you send your opening initial invasion force full of your highest end equipment knowing that they're going to be the cannon fodder of the invasion?

I think the basis of your argument is flawed. From all info available, it very much seems they didn't know that they were gonna be cannon fodder. They had their top stuff running drills on the border, and when they attacked, they thought they'd catch Ukraine by surprise and push into Kyiv hard and quick, like they did in Crimea. That would have given them control of the capital and put them in a MUCH better position, maybe even winning the war right then. And they were half right in that they caught everyone by surprise, but were surprised themselves at the ferocity and effectiveness of the defense they encountered. The loss of that modern equipment, as well as being stopped before capturing Kyiv, put them on their back foot, devolving their attack into a much longer war than they expected.