There was a current for this but it was more specific to DPR and LPR, who kept getting shelled and had ceasefire violations against them by Ukraine prior to the SMO. Also, Crimea obviously. And there were absolutely tons of neo nazis crawling around in Ukraine, I know western media has insisted this isn't the case anymore retroactively but it was true.

I don't think anyone was really claiming Ukraine as a whole was being liberated, that seems like libs trying to purge their guilt from supporting the invasion of Iraq by fantasizing they're now on the "good side" wrt the conflict in Ukraine.