Sovereignty is the deeper moral right. It is any sovereign individual or group’s right to accept or reject an authority they choose to, and they must deal with the consequences of that (often implicit) choice.

A sovereign entity who is by choice or otherwise subject to a malign power will become a channel for that malign power, regardless of whether or not they intend to. And even when there is no malign intent, there can be fundamental disagreements between sovereign states.

It is very possible the individuals don’t support Russia. But aside from aiding and supporting defection, there’s not much we can do until Russia demonstrates a will to relinquish a hold on Ukraine, who has clearly demonstrated their sovereignty.