Indigenous Ukrainians are disappointed after failing to reach Trump and Putin’s high stakes summit
Trump welcomes Putin and the Alaska Summit called “very productive”
President Donald Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Alaska Summit “very productive,” but said there was “no deal.”
- Ukrainian-American Volodymur Varchuk expressed his disappointment at the lack of progress from the Trump Putin Summit on the war in Ukraine.
- Varchuk hopes that the outcome of the summit will not result in further loss of land or life in Ukraine.
- Two Ukrainian teens Taisiia Grygorova and Sofiia kopytko shared their experiences and hopes at the end of the war.
Ukrainian-American Volodymir Varchuk said expectations for a high-stakes summit between President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin were low.
However, after hearing world leaders meet in person for the first time in six years to end the Russian war in Ukraine, Valchuk admitted that this is a head shaker.
“I have no words. I have nothing to say. I really didn’t expect much, but this is even worse than I thought,” Valchuk, 46, told USA Today. “That’s what I feel now.”
Valchuk, a respiratory therapist who lives in San Rafael, California, said he was “very disappointed” when Trump said “no contract” to end the three-year Ukrainian war.
“At least they might have thought a bit about Putin saying the agreement is,” Valchuk said of the summit in Anchorage, Alaska. “Trump said he’ll talk to NATO and (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy, but don’t you really know what that means?
“Yeah, I’m disappointed,” said Valchuk, who came to the US from Ukraine in 1996. “I was very disappointed.”
Valchuk, who gained American citizenship in 2004, said he had no idea what will happen next for his hometown.
“I hope that the land and more lives will not be spent on Ukrainian land,” Barchuk said. “I hope.”
How War is Looking for Two Ukrainian Teens Currently in the US
For two Ukrainian-born teenagers, Taysia Grigorova and Sofia Kopitko “Voice from Ukraine: A Tale of War and Hope” They told USA Today that no matter what the outcome comes from the Anchorage, Alaska summit, the war won’t end soon.
Grigorova, 19, who lives in Kharkiv, a city near the Ukrainian-Russian border, said despite constant rocket attacks, drones, air attacks and explosions, her thoughts are always with people suffering through ongoing battle.
Grigorova, a journalism study at Warsaw International University, said despite the dangers he regularly returns to Karkiv to visit his parents and four young siblings.
“And every time I go there, I prepare myself,” Tyre, you go for two weeks, and you’re 100% likely to get hit by rockets at least four times in this time, but you’re fine, your brother and sister live in this nightmare every day, you can handle two weeks,” Grigorova said.
Grigorova said her youngest child, the six-year-old brother, is due to start school this year, but what does she think of the threat of bombing?
“You ask, ‘What risks are there?’ Well, there’s always a chance that one of the bombs flying through the city will attack the schools where the kids are studying,” Grigorova said. “My brothers study underground without the sunlight, without the possibility of playing outside to run freely on the football pitch or hear the birds singing.”
Grigorova said he has all his family documents near the front door in case his mother needs to leave the house forever.
“That’s how war looks like for me and my family,” Grigorova said.
Sofia Kopitko, 18, from Chernichv, Ukraine, said the war was not only a lack of territory, resources and weapons, but also a family like a doctor who works in critical situations, and a family like Grigorova who lives in territory occupied daily as a result of random air strikes.
“Human life is not a statistic, but it is the most valuable thing each of us has and we have to protect it,” Kopitko said. “After all, you never know what tomorrow will hold and if it will come at all.”
Grigorova said she desperately wanted to end the war so that people could live their lives in peace.
“I hope that once the war is over, we can visit our families without fear,” Grigorova said. “I hope my city will be renovated and I hope I can help rebuild my country, which I want to grow into as my future children.”
Kopytko said her wish was very easy.
“There will be no more news of death and destruction,” Kopitko said. “Of course I can talk about careers and family building, but for me these are elements of happiness that I strive for. First and foremost, free people in a free country. In free Ukraine.”
