What does this vapid and emotive statement actually serve to achieve, given the fact that you could say the same about literally any country engaged in warfare throughout the entire history of civilisation?

Are all human beings not worthy of the same respect, regardless of ethnicity or nationality?

Nobody will question that. Military conflict is always horrible. Be that in the Ukraine, be that in Yemen, be that in Iraq, be that in Afghanistan, be that in any of the other thousand examples throughout human history.

The issue here is, it's not even about the people. It's about a conflict of interest between major powers in the world, who are unable to co-operate but rather escalate their disputes on political or even warfare levels.

The whole thing goes back to the early 2010s and that only recently. The issue itself goes back far longer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrMiSQAGOS4 is a talk of Prof. John Mearsheimer at the University of Chicago and provides some basic insight. If you have the hour to watch it, I highly recommend it.