It is “sad to hear this kind of rhetoric from a key ally,” says one active Ukrainian fighter.
KYIV — Ukraine’s capital was filled with distrust and disappointment on a sunny, cold Thursday afternoon, the day after United States President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth obliterated Kyiv’s hopes of a favorable peace deal with Russia.
No NATO, no security guarantees from the U.S., no return of occupied territories.
As people walked their dogs, visited the grocery store and chain-smoked cigarettes, every conversation seemed to revolve around questions of whether the U.S. had betrayed Ukraine, if the country was on its own now and were Ukrainians naive to believe in common Western values.
One theme came through clearly from Ukrainians of different ages, professions and political beliefs: It’s time for a reality check.
“I think everyone is tired. Europe, U.S. They don’t want to spend their money here anymore. And I am just thinking that any kind of deal would do just for us and our poor soldiers to get at least a short break, » said accountant Liubov (who, like others quoted in this story, did not want to provide his surname), while smoking at a street café in one of Kyiv’s residential neighborhoods.
« Because the Kremlin would not be stopped by any agreement they offer us. It will not stop until it swallows us whole. But I think we need time to recuperate,” Liubov added.
Trump’s remarks on Wednesday afternoon that he was starting peace negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin — while appearing to cast blame on Kyiv for the war that Russia started — provoked consternation in Ukraine.
“As a refugee from Luhansk region, it is hard for me to hear this,” Volodymyr Pesnev said, while standing with his friends near a department store in Kyiv.
“I was forced to move to Kyiv at the end of 2014 when Russians seized our land first. I have three apartments there and some Russians live in them illegally now. I want to go home, to Ukrainian Luhansk, to my flats and my girls,” he said, while showing pictures of his beehives. « Tell that to Trump,” Pesnev added.
For Ukrainian soldiers, the fight will go on, even as foreign political figures aim to decide the country’s future. Discussions between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and high-profile figures in the Trump administration will take place this weekend at the Munich Security Conference. Zelenskyy has said Kyiv would not accept any kind of U.S.-Russia peace deal reached without Ukraine’s input.
“Of course, we were busy fighting, but it is still sad to hear this kind of rhetoric from a key ally. Our army is still our strongest security guarantee. And I am sure no one wants such a strong asset to fall under Russia’s command,” Ukrainian soldier Oleh, fighting near Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region, told POLITICO.
Oleh thinks that, as of today, Russia is the party most interested in talks, as Ukrainian troops have bloodied and exhausted its million-man army. “We see it in their assault tactics, on their increasingly weak combat readiness. I recently talked to POWs and they have little to no motivation left. So I think it is time for maximum pressure on them, not negotiations,” Oleh added.
The bombshell nature of Trump’s initial call with Putin has left many Ukrainians blindsided, following years of no top-level contact between Washington and the Kremlin, and former U.S. President Joe Biden’s vow to back Ukraine for as long as it takes.
“I was shocked by this. If the Americans don’t want to give us guarantees, they should return our nuclear weapons back,” said Valentyna. Then she admitted she still has hopes Keith Kellogg, Trump’s envoy on Russia and Ukraine, would weigh in. “His daughter has a foundation in Ukraine. She was here; she knows the hell we live in. Maybe she can tell her father that Russia can’t be trusted.
« We will not trust it for generations,” Valentyna said.
