The voting records pre-coup paint a very clear picture:

Despite the democratic process, far-right Banderites took over the government, and began ethnically repressing those in the Donbass, resulting in Donetsk and Luhansk seceding. Contrary to your position, fascism has been rising in Ukraine post-2014, with the Banderite state pushing for normalization of Nazism. This is why there are so many Nazis constantly caught on camera in various Ukrainian forces.

As for the fact that salaried administrators are not in fact the same as capitalists, what part of this is circular? Proletarian vanguards come into power via the proletariat, this is the first ruling class in history to be of the working classes. All prior ruling classes have been of the owning classes. You are erasing class and vital context to equate systems with states despite massively different forms and results.

If you are skeptical of people directly telling you they lived better lives in socialism because it was in the past, why not ask those presently living in socialism? Well over 90% of Chinese citizens support their government.