Agreed — I think the refugee issue is a more race-centric response. Even there, though, I think it does matter that Ukraininans are neighbors with a similar culture and degree of modernization, and that also makes acceptance easier. But when weighing how much of a factor race plays, I do expect it’s substantial when it comes to just how accepting countries are of Ukrainian refugees. That it’s the right thing to do doesn’t even seem to be a question in how people in Europe are approaching it, nor how the U.S. media reports on it — there is no doubt. I have a hard time imagining that there wouldn’t at least be a lot of doubt if Ukrainians were not white. (For instance, if the same thing happened to Turkey — presuming that Turkey somehow left NATO — I would expect far more hesitation.)

On the other hand, if Taiwan is invaded, I also wouldn’t be shocked if a lot of Western countries didn’t end up doing exactly the same thing. (I also wouldn’t be shocked if they didn’t.)