Two suggestions for you.
One: you might be, like me, a lucky one. Someone with an IT background, not too negatively affected by the Covid-19 crisis. Think about it for a second.
If my guess is wrong, apologies for assuming you fit that profile. Tell me more about how bad it is for you, if you'd like.
Two: you can deal with this issue by simply considering it "lost" money, and move on. Getting your real money back would be a pain in the ass. Right now, the Airline is still capable of giving you hours of rage and stress. Take away that power from them. End the issue in the fastest way possible.
It's a pity that these things happen. In a modern, just society, a company and its executives should be immediately punished for this kind of behavior.
So to avoid personal frustration, enable their dark patterns? I don't feel like seesawtron would be the one feeling empowered by giving up and letting them keep the money.
You can try to be more alert next time; you can try to vote differently, if you believe that counts; and you can probably do a number of other things.
"click here for a refund." -> Okay, i gave you 200 airline credits which we count as a "refund" so you're set.
After the flights got cancelled, they sent an email notifying about cancellations due to covid restrictions. Then provided a link to click to claim refund. Turns out that as soon as you click it, you are provided with a voucher that lasts for a year. Now the airline claims that they are willing to provide either cash refund and vouchers but to get the cash, one is required to call the customer support. But since in my case (and very likely almost everyone) "when one is already issued a voucher, the whole refund process is considered completed."
That is a pure genius yet evil way to make you choose the option that suits them better.