Ukraine is preparing for Trump’s return

Will this be the year that Russia’s war against Ukraine ends, as President-elect Donald Trump promised?

Valeria, 30, an English teacher from eastern Ukraine, said the prospect of peace “brings tears to my eyes.”

like Mr. Trump is preparing to return to the White House on Monday, promising peace in UkraineBut he has not publicly offered any strategy for how to achieve this – other than his stated desire to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. So Ukrainians can only guess what the coming months might hold.

Valeria said that no one wants peace more than Ukrainians. She added: “But after suffering so many losses, with hundreds of thousands killed and wounded, the Ukrainians will not accept peace at any price.” She asked not to use her last name, fearing for the safety of her father, who is still living under Russian occupation.

She said: “Europe and America must remember that any ceasefire or any negotiations will not be legitimate unless they respect the sacrifices made by the Ukrainians and guarantee a just, secure and independent future for Ukraine.”

Since Trump won reelection in November, The New York Times has spoken with dozens of Ukrainians — soldiers at the front, villagers forced to flee their homes and people in cities far from the battlefield but vulnerable to missile strikes — about their fate. Hopes and fears before his inauguration.

Many people are frustrated — and bitter — by what some see as an overly cautious approach by the Biden administration, and after enduring months of delays in receiving US military aid last year after it was held up in Congress. The war is still raging, with Ukraine facing a powerful opponent and relying heavily on American military support.

Most people agree that the Trump administration will bring about change. But many fear that change will not be good, especially if military aid is withheld.

“Some say this is the end of Ukraine,” said Anna, 29, an artist who asked that her last name not be used for fear that Russians would harass her online. “But since I consider him an unstable person, I can’t say that with certainty,” she said of Mr. Trump.

She added: “I hope that justice will be served and that Russia will face the consequences of everything it did.”

On the front lines, soldiers often say they are not only defending their homeland, but standing as a shield protecting the rest of Europe from a vindictive Russian regime.

Major Jaroslav Galas, 53, who serves in the 128th Transcarpathian Mountain Assault Brigade, said he believes Trump’s desire to be seen as a winner will ultimately ensure his support for Ukraine.

He said: “Trump realizes that Russia’s victory and Ukraine’s defeat is a defeat for the United States and his personal defeat as president.” “This is how the world will see it.”

Andrey, 44, a military intelligence officer fighting in Russia’s Kursk region, said every Ukrainian had witnessed so much horror that the end of the war could not come soon enough.

“The war is terrifying, and it must end,” he said, requesting that his surname not be used in accordance with military protocol for soldiers interviewed on the front. Maybe Trump will do something about it.”

But if Mr. Trump withholds military support as a way to pressure Kiev to accept a bad deal, things may not go the way he expects.

“It’s going to be bad,” he said. “It will turn into a guerrilla war.”

He added: “We will not give up.” “A lot of good people will die.”

Andrey was a local businessman in the border town of Sumy when the Russians stormed the area in February 2022. He said he hid his four children, picked up a gun and has barely left it since.

“We organized ourselves and started fighting them,” he said. “We expelled them from the city, set up checkpoints, and they couldn’t get through. There was no government, just ordinary people organizing and implementing it.”

While political fighting and social tension within Ukraine I slept Since the beginning of the war, it has been believed that the people will band together again in the event of a catastrophic collapse of the front.

At a cemetery on the outskirts of Sumy this month, row after row of blue and gold Ukrainian flags fluttered in the cold wind.

Katerina Zakharuk, 25, sat at the grave of her husband Ivan.

She added that when Russian forces occupied their village in the first days of the war, he teamed up with his friends to fight behind enemy lines, burned Russian ammunition depots, and even captured a prisoner.

The Russians were expelled across the border, and Ivan joined the army. He was martyred on February 17, 2024.

Ms. Zacharouk said she visits his grave every week.

“My friend’s brother, who was also a friend of Ivan, is buried there,” she said, pointing to the headstone. “My relative is buried there. A boy from my village is buried there. There are a lot of familiar people here.”

She has seen how Russian forces destroyed entire cities, leaving nothing but ashes, and worries that Sumy might suffer the same fate without American support.

“Not only were human lives destroyed, but all memories were destroyed,” she said.

Valeria, the English teacher, said her hometown was already devastated. Her family comes from Krymina, in eastern Ukraine, which has been occupied by Russian forces since the beginning of the war.

Her father is still there. She hasn’t seen him in years.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again,” she said. “Although it may seem ironic, even though he is alive, part of me has already said goodbye to him.”

She said she didn’t know what Trump would do, but she hoped Ukraine would have “a primary voice in such serious decisions as our future, especially on questions of war and peace.”

“Unfortunately, there is a growing feeling that the fate of Ukrainian citizens is often discussed without our participation,” she said.

Lyubov Shlodko and Anna Lukinova Contributed to reports.