Prior to the war where would you rather live?...Ukraine or Russia?
To me this is akin to asking someone which of Mainland China
or Hong Kong they would rather live in before the 2019 riots
were crushed. I don't see the relevance of the question to
where one stands on the conflict. Many Chinese in the mainland
wished to relocate to HK prior to the riots but would agree
with the crackdown on the rioters. In fact more than a minority
of HongKongers supported the restoration of stability as well.
Ukraine has democracy which people from the democratic west
enjoy. Naturally I should have preferred to live in democratic
Ukraine. But as far as I know disparity between Ukraine
and Russia in the standard of living was nowhere as wide as
it was between HK and the mainland in the early 2010's.
So I guess my preference would depend on factors like
what job I landed on and which city I was to move to.