Whether we sympathize with Ukraine or not, the fact remains that no country has the right to grab and annex another country (or portion thereof). Russian thugs in the Kremlin have always dreamed of the Russian Empire (which would include all the countries from the former Soviet Union). So this is empire building at the expense of the suffering Russian people.
At the same time Ukraine and all the European countries West and Northwest of Russia had EIGHT YEARS to develop a solid defense plan against Russian aggression (after Russia grabbed Crimea). But they did nothing, and even as recently as a January 2022 nobody did anything constructive. So we have aggression on one side and stupidity on the other.
Had Trump remained in office, and America remained energy independent, Putin would not have done what he just did. But now Putin wants to grab Ukraine and Xi wants to grab Taiwan at the same time. All because of a clueless imposter sitting in the White House. We should never forget that the USA was regarded as "the leader of the free world" as well as a superpower. Now it is the leader of the third world.