Certainly much of the immediate death is at the hands of the Russian ruling class but to claim this happened in isolation of broader geopolitical forces because Russia just does that is infantile and chauvinistic. This is my issue with the meme. Atlanticist nations are active participants in this war and it is not even their workers dying for it. It is Ukrainian workers dying for Atlanticist goals. Imperialist war is a disgusting awful thing where workers are forced to die for the interests of their oppressors but at least the Russians are dying for Russia. Even if Ukraine miraculously “wins” this war there will not be a free Ukraine. Their rulers owe the west too much. This is a war over ownership of Ukrainian resources and labor power, nothing more.

To claim that Russia is an instinctual aggressor and Atlanticist powers are a benevolent allies of Ukraine is nakedly propagandistic.