Sending US Marines to fight protesters in Los Angeles is one thing. Trump still has to deal with his boast that he could solve Ukraine in a single day.
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In the Kyiv suburb of Irpin, 50-year-old Victor still clearly remembers the day in 2022 when a Russian artillery shell landed outside his home. He nearly lost his life in the blast, hurled against a wall as metal fragments tore through the air around him.
Three years later, the damage to his house has been mostly repaired. But life is anything but normal. Russian Shahed drones fly overhead toward the capital on a daily basis, Ukrainian recruitment officers patrol the streets, and the mental toll of the war weighs heavily on many.
It is impossible to escape the war and the news of what seems to be a constantly changing circus surrounding Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Donald Trump, who initially promised that he could end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours.
“It is impossible to avoid the news,” says Victor, who lives with his parents. “But it is becoming clear that nothing will come of it. Putin wants all of Ukraine. We can’t agree to that, and we can’t win the war, it seems; so it will just continue. For how long? I don’t know.”
“I must be honest and say that I can’t see an end to this. Trump says one thing one day and something else the next,” Victor adds. “I just try to stay busy. If I think too much about this, or if I just sit still, I will eventually get mental issues like so many others.”
Wearing a yellow safety vest, Victor works on repairing the family’s truck in the changing weather. The vehicle is their main source of income and needs to be back on the road soon.
“We all want the war to end, but I can’t see how it can end,” says Victor, lighting a cigarette, “If the Russians come here again, I am sure that it will be much worse than ever before, so we somehow have to find a way to stop them. I just don’t know how.”
A Divided Ukraine
Victor isn’t alone in his longing for peace. Recent opinion polls suggest a growing number of Ukrainians now support negotiations as a possible path forward.
A Gallup poll from November found that 52 percent of Ukrainians favored a negotiated settlement, up from 27 percent the year before. Only 38 percent answered that they want their country to keep fighting until victory.
Alexei Jakubin, associate professor at Kyiv’s Polytechnic Institute, told WhoWhatWhy that the actual number of people who want negotiations could be higher. Some people might be reluctant to speak their minds during wartime.
In the Gallup survey, half of the people who wanted negotiations said that they are open to territorial concessions.
“People are simply tired of the war, due to the horror, the economy, and uncertainty about the future. Many simply do not see a future anymore,” says Jakubin. “Many have been waiting for victory, and now, for many, it seems impossible. The war just goes on.”
He notes that many Ukrainians still support the goal of victory, but the country remains deeply divided. Hopes that Trump could deliver peace are fading, and many now believe the war could stretch well beyond 2025.
“It is a real challenge for Ukraine. Many people will now sit down and think about their future. It is a big problem if many people decide to leave the country to build a future somewhere else,” says Jakubin, adding that men of military age are barred from leaving the country but women, who are also keeping the country afloat, could leave.
He concludes, “What is happening right now is in many ways the most brutal scenario for many people.”
‘Putin Wants All of Ukraine’
Inside the family’s home in Irpin, Victor’s 73-year-old mother, Svetlana, offers a traditional Ukrainian lunch: a type of salad called Olivier, along with Holodets, a meat-jelly dish, prepared with vegetables from the backyard garden.
WhoWhatWhy met Svetlana and Victor for the first time a couple of months after the Russian invasion in 2022. Back then, she still believed Ukraine could win. Now, she’s far less certain. It worries her sick.
“I watch the news every day at 10 a.m., 12 p.m., and 4 p.m.,” says Svetlana, with the TV news in the background. “It is just so terrible what is happening to my country.”
A drone strike recently hit a nearby hostel. Svetlana says Ukrainian soldiers had been staying there, but checked out just hours before the attack. “It means that someone local told Russia to strike there. It is terrible to think about,” she says. Svetlana is also worried about the future: “Putin wants all of Ukraine, so we can’t talk to him. And it seems like we can’t win the war right now.”
“But look at it,” she says, pointing at the television as news about a drone strike plays. “So many people are dying, so many are dying. It is just terrible. We all just want peace. But I can’t see it happening. Putin doesn’t want peace.” She adds that she is worried that Ukraine will lose the war if the US abandons her country, “but it doesn’t mean that I want peace at all costs. Without security guarantees, there will be no peace.”
Victor agrees. So far, he hasn’t been called to military service, but he knows that it is likely only a matter of time before he is mobilized.
“I feel okay about that,” says Victor, “I will be ready if called upon.”
The Soldier’s Dilemma
At the front line, the situation is becoming more serious. Drones are making it increasingly dangerous for both sides on the battlefield. The Russians are expected to launch another big offensive in the coming weeks. The Ukrainian army is struggling with a shortage of manpower, while the Russians seem to have an endless supply of soldiers.
Volunteer enlistments have slowed dramatically since 2022, and the Ukrainian military is increasingly dependent on conscripts. Morale is mixed. Some soldiers are committed to fighting on, while others are weary and looking for peace.
Oleksandr Didur, 33, is a Ukrainian veteran who fought in Mariupol in 2022. He was severely wounded and spent over a year in Russian captivity before being released in a prisoner exchange in 2023. He now works with veterans, helping them cope with trauma.
“There are people who say that this is it. Let’s sign a peace agreement. That we should leave Russia with the territories [they have occupied], but I don’t agree with this. We can’t do that. We will just wait for a couple of years, and Russia will then attack us again,” says Didur. “They need to leave our territory. Otherwise, we won’t have any peace. Signing a peace deal with Russia is like signing a death sentence. I do understand people who don’t want to fight, but we need to fight.”
He adds that the army is split between people who think like him and people who have had enough. What’s most frustrating, he says, is the sense that Ukraine has been abandoned by some countries.
“I just don’t know what needs to happen for the war to end. I guess that I just don’t have enough intelligence to understand how to end it or why it started,” says Didur, who is ready to fight again, despite having lost three fingers, if the army asks him.
We Need To Talk
The neighboring town of Bucha was also all but destroyed back in 2022. It was here that a Russian column with tanks and infantry vehicles was halted on Vokzalna Street. Viktor Dubovyi, a music teacher, watched them drive down the road outside his window.
WhoWhatWhy met him in May 2022, after the Russian retreat from the area. Back then, many of the houses were reduced to rubble. A large rebuilding effort has since made the street impossible to recognize. New homes have popped up everywhere.
“Things are much better here now, but all of this,” says Dubovyi, referring to the new houses on the street, “doesn’t change the fact that the war is still going on. It is difficult for everyone because we do not know what will happen tomorrow.”
Dubovyi tries to stay busy. He avoids the news, finding little reason to follow developments closely. “Trump says one thing one day and then something completely different tomorrow,” he says. “I don’t believe that peace will come. I wish for it, but Putin doesn’t want it.”
Dubovyi adds that he can accept some loss of territory for peace. But deep down, he’s worried that this conflict is only the beginning of a much larger war in Eastern Europe: “Ideally, we should be able to speak to each other and find a compromise. I would very much like that, but it seems to be an illusion.”
