Support motivated people who want to be free and will fight for it, support people not strong men. The current battle is against strongmen and authoritarians, not a long discredited ideology. It is very much for liberal democracy, we don't need to spread it, as much as support it when it arises. It is also against corruption, in Ukraine too and that's why they elected Zelenskiy and his party, to try and deal with it by moving closer to the EU with it's regulations and checks on corruption.
Ukraine is the best bet Uncle Sam has had for a long time, it will change the face of Europe, end Russia as a super power, other than using nukes to commit suicide with for the most part. It will also greatly promote the cause of freedom, because courage is contagious, Russia will be weak and was an empire of conquest by ethnic Russians for the most part. Belarus might be next and Georgia has a score to settle too, much depends on how badly Vlad's army is destroyed in Ukraine and what he has left afterwards. All former Republics will be against them and perhaps will form a defensive military alliance against them to ensure their future independence. A few years could see Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia and perhaps others in a defensive alliance against Russian aggression.