In Kyiv, Ukrainians residing beneath close to each day Russian bombardment watched with astonishment as their nation’s most vital ally rolled out a crimson carpet in Alaska for the person they blame for over three years of battle, bloodshed and loss.
Natalya Lypei, 66, a Kyiv resident, did a double-take. However the photos flashing on her cellphone display screen had been actual: U.S. President Donald Trump greeted Russian President Vladimir Putin warmly and clapped because the Russian chief approached him, after having been escorted into the nation by 4 American fighter jets.
Trump additionally ignored the arrest warrant issued for Putin by the Worldwide Legal Courtroom that has stored him principally confined at house or in nations which might be robust allies.
“How will you welcome a tyrant like that?” she requested, echoing the ideas of many Kyiv residents.
The crimson carpet remedy, the shortage of concrete choices for Ukraine and, most importantly, neglecting the importance of sanctions — a coverage that would flip the tide in Kyiv’s favor — have felt like a betrayal for Ukrainians who’ve borne huge struggling within the virtually three-and-a-half years since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Tens of 1000’s of Ukrainian servicemen, the nation’s bravest and most expert, have been killed and wounded, 1000’s of civilians have been killed in Russian strikes, and a fifth of the nation is beneath occupation, severing households, properties and Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
Get breaking Nationwide information
For information impacting Canada and world wide, join breaking information alerts delivered on to you once they occur.
On Ukrainian social media, memes of Putin and Trump strolling down a crimson carpet strewn with useless Ukrainian our bodies had been extensively shared.
Zelenskyy had anticipated the assembly could be a boon for Putin and that there could be little or no in the way in which of outcomes. Talking to reporters within the days main as much as the assembly, he mentioned it might find yourself being a public relations victory for the Russian chief. Above all else, he was looking for a photograph on American soil — which he received in Friday’s assembly.
It was the primary time in a decade that Putin had stepped foot within the U.S., ending worldwide isolation spurred by the 2022 Ukraine invasion; in different phrases, it was a win. For Lypei, whose serviceman son was killed final 12 months, it was like attending one other funeral, a contemporary loss. This time, her nation’s hopes for a simply peace.
“It hurts me loads that my baby died in a full-scale battle, and right now we noticed a brand new funeral,” she mentioned. Her 34-year-old son fought with Ukraine’s 79th Brigade and was killed within the Donetsk area, the very space Putin desires Ukraine to vacate as a situation for a truce.
“I don’t want anybody that sorrow, that unhappiness, these tears,” she mentioned.
Natalya Cucil, 60, one other Kyiv resident mentioned she was shocked that Trump didn’t produce any outcomes from the assembly, regardless of his said efforts to finish the battle.
“There are not any outcomes and we don’t know if there will probably be, though we at all times count on one thing and hope for it,” she mentioned.
Pensioner Anatolii Kovalenko, 72, mentioned it doesn’t matter what was mentioned between the 2 leaders, it’s clear his nation’s adversary has received within the sphere of public relations.
“Putin received this assembly 100%,” he mentioned.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
