I'm on the progressive left (far to the left of the Democrats) but I can understand why MAGA Conservatives favour Putin. They know liberals abandoned them and when they see billions going to Zelensky when their towns are closing down and, with good reason, have learned not to trust anything the US government says, Putin (regardless of his reputation) is the voice of reason.

To answer the question: yes, Ukraine does have an interest in crushing ethnic Russians. 14,000 people in the Donbass have been killed by Ukrainian forces since 2014 and civilians in the region are still being targeted.