This famine was not only the result of mistakes by the Soviet leadership, but also, more broadly, a consequence of the civil war and drought. Ukrainian propaganda, of course, calls it a genocide, but in reality, everyone was dying from hunger there, regardless of nationality. Furthermore, it should be remembered that, historically, very soon after the Civil War, the Second World War began. The country had no time to recover, and nevertheless, Ukraine became literally a leading republic of the Union. You could boldly take Ukraine of that period and compare it with any "capitalist" Western European state, and Ukraine was no worse.
Yes, Ukrainian stores of that time, by today's standards, would have seemed overly eco-friendly — communism could not provide a wide range of consumer goods. In the best years, if a single product was available in two or three variations, it was considered good. But on a larger scale, the projects that Ukraine implemented under communism still look unique and ambitious even today. Some achievements were unmatched anywhere in the world. And, of course, capitalist Ukraine is not even capable of building a public restroom. Building a hydroelectric power station is simply impossible for them. They couldn't even complete the Soviet-era projects, and this was long before Russia began to destabilize their country.