In the end Scotland didn’t have to worry about how they would feel about inflicting more pain on a nation that has suffered so much.
Instead, it was Ukraine who showed us no mercy as the war-torn country summoned the spirit to produce the victory to give their people a much-needed lift with a 3-1 win.
And for Scotland it means the wait to grace the World Cup stage will extend to at least a 28th year when the tournament is held in North America and Mexico.
The Tartan Army will once again be spectators when the tournament takes place in Qatar this winter as Ukraine take on Wales in Cardiff on Sunday for that final place.
And Steve Clarke and his men can have few complaints after being outplayed by their play-off semi-final rivals at Hampden despite Callum McGregor's late goal setting up a grandstand finish.
But Andriy Yarmolenko's lobbed opener in the first half and Roman Yaremchuk’s header after the restart did the damage as what had been set up for a special night turned out to be a damp squib as Artem Dovbyk netted a killer injury time third.
It was a huge night for Aaron Hickey as he was the Bologna youngster was handed his competitive international debut at right back.
Clarke went with Che Adams and Lyndon Dykes in a two-pronged attack as they looked to take the game to Ukraine.
If there was a question mark over how sharp the visitors would be then it took just nine minutes for them to show their threat.
Oleksandr Karavayev got down Scotland’s left too easily and his cross was worked to Dynamo Kyiv team-mate Viktor Tsyhankov and his half volley was brilliantly tipped over by Craig Gordon.
And Gordon came to the rescue again when the ball wriggled through a ruck of of bodies into Andriy Yarmolenko’s path but the Hearts man denied the West Ham man from point blank range, pouncing on the ball at the second attempt after the initial shot squirmed under his body.
Scotland struggled to get going but Grant Hanley headed a good chance over from Andy Robertson’s corner at the other end.
However, it was the visitors who got the opening goal just after the half hour mark and nobody could argue they didn’t deserve.
It was a brilliant finish, but all too simple. Ruslan Malinovskyi played a long ball over the top of the Scotland defence, Yarmolenko just beat the offside trap and took a lovely touch before lobbing the ball over the advancing Gordon.
The home side were being totally dominated, the crowd were flat as a result and something had to change with Clarke hoping the introduction of Ryan Christie at the break would do that.
But with less than five minutes on the clock in the second half Scotland were dealt a major blow as Ukraine doubled their lead.
And again it was far too easy with Karavayev floating in a great cross for Yaremchuk who got above Hickey and Scott McTominay to head home.
It was going to take something special for Scotland to get back into. Or so you would have thought but it was actually the simplest of chances that should have hauled them back into it.
McTominay's cross was poorly dealt with by Heorhiy Bushchan who parried it out to John McGinn and somehow he headed wide of the post with the goal at his mercy.
Bushchan didn't look to clever and he flapped again to hand Scotland the goal that gave them a lifeline.
The Dynamo Kyiv keeper failed to deal with substitute Stuart Armstrong's ball into the box under pressure as he punched it only as far as McGregor whose lofted effort just went over the line before it was cleared.
The Celtic skipper had finally rallied the crowed and they were applauding him again at the other end for a brilliantly timed challenge to thwart a Ukraine counter.
But it was all too little, too late as Scotland couldn't conjure up that equaliser they needed to force extra time. Then came the killer. The finish from Dovbyk that finished Scotland. It was 3-1. Game over.
Here’s 5 talking points from Hampden
Sloppy Scotland
All the questions before the match surrounded Ukraine and how much they would be affected by the horrific events in their homeland.
That was the mental aspect but the physical issue was over a lack of game time both as a team and for their domestic-based players following the shutdown of their league after the start of the war.
But, surprisingly, it was Steve Clarke’s men who looked way short in terms of what was needed for a game with so much at stake.
Scotland had been on such a good run but they picked the wrong night to be off it and Callum McGregor's goal came too late.
Dire defending
Kieran Tierney’s absence was always going to be huge but the performance of the backline couldn’t be put solely down to the Arsenal man missing.
The goals Ukraine scored were conceded far too easily from a Scotland point of view with the first a long ball over the top and the second a simple header.
And the damage could have been a lot worse if it wasn’t for Craig Gordon or Ukraine had been more clinical.
The defence was caught out trying to play offside for the first and Aaron Hickey was easily outjumped for the second.
Awesome Andriy
Andriy Shevchenko - in the stand at Hampden - announced his name on the international stage in the mid-1990s and became an Ukraine strike legend.
His namesake and opening scorer here Yarmolenko might not have the same reputation in world football but he is still a formidable frontman.
And his strike takes him to within just three goals of Shevchenko’s 48-goal haul for his country which is hugely impressive.
West Ham United announced last week he has been freed and the 32-year-old former Borussia Dortmund man surely won’t be short of offers.
Gutted Gordon
The veteran Hearts shot-stopper has enjoyed an international career spanning almost two decades and this was likely his last shot at a World Cup.
And on a night when not many enjoyed pass marks, the evergreen keeper certainly couldn’t have had any fingers pointed at him.
After a stunning season he was yet again in inspired formerly on - and there was little he could do about the goal.
He was forced into two brilliant early saves as Ukraine started on the front foot and looks the more dangerous.
His Scotland career has spanned almost two decades so the shot-stopper has been through it all in 67 caps for his country but sadly unlikely a World Cup.
First Eurovision, now the world?
Ukraine rode a tidal wave of support to win the Eurovision song contest last month and that lifted the spirits of the war-torn nation.
And they had all the backing here in the country’s first competitive football match since the invasion by neighbours Russia.
Everyone outside of Scotland was backing them in the same way they were for the international song competition in Italy.
Now they will be looking to complete the job against Wales on Sunday and reach the World Cup this winter.
