If you read the full quotes from the article, these comments aren't compliments, they are comments to contextualize/justify treatment of other refugees. Literally every quote is saying "Ukranians are x, unlike other refugees who are y". That is clearly racism and not "cringe wokeness".
Parent comment didn't mention gulf states once? I'm pretty sure that anyone who is aware of the plight of refugees from Iraq, Syria, Yemen or Afghanistan knows that the Gulf States have blood on their hands from their interventions.