Kyiv, Ukraine – A few days before the third anniversary of the Russian large -scale invasion, the Ukrainians are as dark and tense as just before the launch of the war. It’s only now, they are not only worried about their long -standing enemy.
The new threat of Ukraine comes from its formerly the most faithful ally, the United States, whose support seems to fade while President Donald Trump parroes the propaganda of Russian President Vladimir Putin while committing to arrest the fights between the two countries.
After their initial shock against Trump’s false claims this week that Ukraine is led by a “dictator” who sparked the war with Russia, the Ukrainian people gathered around a provocative Volodymyr Zelensky president, who publicly Criticized Trump for promoting “Russian disinformation”.
“Yes, he is not a perfect president, but he is not a dictator,” said Kateryna Karaush, a 25 -year -old technological worker from kyiv who really likes Ukrainians – and even some Republicans in Congress – have Bad to roll up his head around Trump adoption of Russia, which represents a major subject on American foreign policy.
“He feels like the whole world is against us,” said Karaush.
Against long, Ukrainians – with massive military support from the United States – prevented Russia from overcoming their country, even if about a fifth is now under the control of Russia.
But after three years of war, civilians and soldiers are exhausted. Hundreds of thousands have been killed or injured, tens of thousands of people are missing and millions fled the country.
The atmosphere has become darker in recent days while Trump has reported his desire to quickly put the fights in his terms which, according to Zelensky and many in the West, are too favorable to Russia.
After Trump called Zelensky a “dictator” – to legally postpone an election last year – and as reports emerged from American and Russian officials who meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss a possible ceasefire without Contribution of Ukraine, even some of the hardest national criticisms of Zelensky began to defend itself. him.
“We can have different opinions on Zelensky, but only Ukrainian citizens have the right to judge his support,” said Yaroslav Zhelezniak, a legislator of the Holos opposition party. “And to criticize it publicly too, because, in the end, he is our chief elected.”
Trump’s hardwords for Zelensky have aroused criticism of democrats and even some Republicans in the American Congress, where Ukraine’s defense against Russia – with tens of billions of military aid – had bipartite support . But vice-president JD Vance urged Zelensky for publicly warning Trump to fall in love with Russian disinformation.
Thursday, in -depth tensions led to the cancellation of a press conference which had been planned to follow the talks between Zelensky and the Ukrainian envoy of Trump on the way of ending the war.
A survey published Wednesday by the kyiv International Sociology Institute trusted the public in Zelensky at 57%. The investigation was carried out from February 4 to February 9 among 1,000 people living through Ukraine in regions and territories controlled by the Ukrainian government.
“We have a president that we support. During the war, we are united, “said Larysa, a 52-year-old resident in northeast Kharkiv, who refused to give her a family name due to security problems.
Find out more: The survey shows a decrease in Trump approval
The political gap with the United States comes while the more numerous and outdated Ukrainian forces have more and more difficult to retain the slow but regular advances of Russia.
Speaking since the front lines, some Ukrainian soldiers said they were not yet panicked and not ready to abandon the fight.
“Even if we do not get enough weapons or if the funding is cut, this does not change our duty to (fight),” said a Ukrainian officer who spoke under the cover of anonymity in accordance with military rules. “No shells? We are going to take rifles. No rifles? We are going to take shovels.
Trump echoes one of the frequent discussion points in Putin on Wednesday, saying that Zelensky, whose mandate expired last year, has to hold elections. But the idea has little traction in Ukraine – even among opposition politicians, who recognize Zelensky’s right to postpone the elections in time.
“The elections are not necessary for the moment, because they should only take place when we understand the framework of (a peace) in agreement with Russia,” said Volodymyr Ariev, a legislator of the European Opposition of Solidarity. “The elections now would only benefit the Kremlin, dividing Ukrainians more and installing a new president who could sign a favorable agreement in Moscow.”
An advisor to Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, gave an additional reason to hold any election until there is peace: Russia could seek to interfere in an electoral process which is already confronted with important challenges.
Millions of displaced Ukrainians living abroad would find it difficult to participate – without mentioning the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians living in territories occupied by Russia, whose ability to vote would be practically impossible.
About 800,000 Ukrainians are currently used in the armed forces, which makes them difficult to make ballots without weakening the army. And these fights could not appear in the elections – a guaranteed right under Ukrainian law.
“The elections before a peace agreement with the security guarantees is signed would be devastating for Ukraine,” said Valerii Pekar, professor at Kyiv-Mohyla Business School. “The United States and Russia are now united to promote the idea of” elections first, then peace “- which is the fastest and cheapest way to bring Ukraine to fall.”
—The associate journalist Associate Volodymyr Yurchuk contributed from Kyiv, in Ukraine.
