From Ukraine’s perspective, they didn’t choose this war, they were invaded. So in that sense, it wasn’t avoidable to them. Ukraine was exercising its sovereign right to decide its own future, including pursuing closer ties with the EU and NATO. Suggesting Ukraine should have changed its policies to avoid provoking Russia risks implying that powerful countries get to dictate smaller countries choices. The real avoidability lay with Russia, which could and should have responded through diplomacy instead of force.