I'm also not defending Putin, but simply as a matter of killing people, Ukraine has the power to prevent that by not fighting, even if it comes at the cost of l

I'm also not defending Putin, but simply as a matter of killing people, Ukraine has the power to prevent that by not fighting, even if it comes at the cost of losing their existence as a country separate from Russia. That could certainly be a bad thing in other ways, but you expressed concern for people killed in the war, not grander moral rights and wrongs.