Do Ukrainians hate America now?
Editor’s Note:
I’ve made two commitments to myself which I’d like to share with you. The first is that our publication won’t leave Kyiv unless it is absolutely necessary. The second is that we will take every precaution we can to keep our team safe.
I haven’t felt like this since the full-scale invasion. Dark times are ahead.
Will you stand with us?
“I'm going to the cemetery now, but I'm very upset about the situation, it's just disrespectful to Ukraine...” the man started to cry and walked away.
My chest tightened at the reaction of a 60-year-old man passing by on a Kyiv street.
He had probably lost someone close to him and was on his way to visit the grave. I had asked him about the Trump-Zelenskyy conflict.
The man's eyes showed unbearable pain: the president of Ukraine's most powerful partner country had chased his president out of the White House. Trump and Vance accused Zelenskyy of hating Putin too much, and being ungrateful.
Just as Ukrainians recovered from news of the Oval Office argument, where Trump and Vance tried to persuade Zelenskyy to take peace at any price, this morning Ukrainian awoke to terrible news.
All U.S. military aid to Ukraine would be cut off.
Under current conditions, without additional aid from the U.S. or other allies, the air defense systems that have been keeping our cities safe will soon stop working. The artillery rounds that have been keeping the Russians from advances will fall silent.
It’s only a matter of weeks – and at most, a few months.
Once again, Ukrainians are using humor as a defensive mechanism in the darkest of times: there’s talk about the “hostility” of the English language and boycotting Americano coffee.
The society is faced with a dilemma: whether these are just innocent jokes that help to cope with the news, or whether Ukraine's once greatest ally should really be equated with a new party to aggression.
On one of the first gloomy days of March, passersby were also gloomy, but most likely not because of the weather... Most people refused to comment on the situation or express opinions when asked about the conflict between the leaders.
Shock and disappointment were the main emotions expressed by Kyiv residents who agreed to speak. Most Ukrainians perceive the behavior of Trump and Vance as disrespectful to the entire nation and indifferent to the death that Russia has brought to Ukrainian soil.
Stanislav Blazhevskyy, 24, self-employed.
“I think this was a trap planned by Trump, a so-called fork for Ukraine with two options: either Zelenskyy will swallow all the disrespect and become a puppy on a leash, agreeing to any conditions, or they can quarrel and remove Ukraine and Zelenskyy from the negotiations and thus push their ‘agreements.’”
“I separate the government and the population. Many American people are fighting and have fought for our country in this war. The Trump administration does not reflect the opinion and intentions of the whole nation.”
Andrii Ianitskyi, 41, journalist and communicator (Head of Communications, Public Employment Service of Ukraine).
“It was a terrible and unpleasant scene, I have never been so ashamed of the U.S. president. As for the President of Ukraine, my attitude towards him has improved.”
“I have a good attitude towards Americans. I have many friends in the United States, I also know Americans who are fighting in the Ukrainian army. I know Americans with Ukrainian roots who serve in the U.S. Army. Our countries have a long-standing partnership and friendship.”
“Oh, no, it's just a joke [memes about hostility to everything American]. No one has given up learning English or drinking Americano coffee. Although I personally prefer filter [coffee].”
Tetiana Ladoshka, 53, head of a dormitory at a Kyiv university.
“I have no trust in this man. Probably because I have lived a long time and have already seen the period of his rule... Zelenskyy did the right thing, he had no choice. I hope it will be good for us.”
Maryna Ivanova, 48, owner of a cafe in Kyiv, from Kherson.
“Trump, as the president of a great country, behaved incorrectly with the president of Ukraine. I support President Zelenskyy because he defends our borders and country… My opinion of the Americans has not changed, because they support us; but my opinion of President Trump has changed.”
Twitter meme on Trump's statement that Zelenskyy doesn’t have the cards:
Many Ukrainians and experts believe that Trump's quarrel with Zelenskyy was prepared by the American side to knock the Ukrainian side out of the rut and dictate terms favorable to the United States. However, Serhiy Gaiday is sure that it was Zelenskyy who planned it.
Serhii Haiday, political strategist, general producer of the YouTube channel ProUA.
“Trump has shown his incompetence in the issue of the war in Ukraine. For him, the usual algorithm of negotiations and pressure from the business environment cannot be transferred to issues of geopolitics and agreements with world dictators.... He needs to rethink his vision of this war, because a predator will never leave a victim if [the victim] does not resist and if [the predator] is allowed to eat half of the victim.”
TikTok videos I saw first minutes after translation of Trump-Zelenskyy press-conference:
Oleksandr Antoniuk, political consultant and military serviceman.
“Even a question about [Zelenskyy’s clothing choice] at a time when Ukrainian cities are being attacked, a large number of people are being killed, their lives are being broken, causes great disappointment in terms of the priority of questions... It is an absolutely normal reaction to an absurd situation to react with sarcasm, irony.”
Oleksandr says that it may be difficult for Ukrainians to emotionally separate the American people from their government. Of course, people are not going to give up their favorite American actors or stars, but the trust in the White House is very much undermined.
According to Oleksandr, Americans are as many memes ridiculing Trump thasan Ukrainians. He has not seen so many jokes, sketches and memes about the White House for a long time.
This year's Oscars ceremony, which took place after an incident at the White House, where Adam Sandler came in a hoodie and shorts, thus violating the event's dress code.
When asked by the host: “Why aren't you in a suit?” the actor replied: “I like the way I look, because I am a good person.”:
When the quarrel in the Oval Office happened, I was filled with anxiety: I didn't know what would happen to Ukraine after our biggest ally, without whom it would be difficult to survive, turned away from us. But the pain and shock subsided a bit as soon as I saw thousands of jokes and memes on all social media. In the very first minutes, Ukrainians began to ridicule Trump's behavior, set trends in the tweets glorifying Ukraine, and share their opinions on the correctness of Zelenskyy's behavior.
But despite everything, I know that my country will fight till the end. Because we have other weapons. Unity and humor in any situation, even the worst, are absolutely inherent in Ukrainians.
This was the case in the first days of Russia's invasion.
It remains so now.
With every passing day, the U.S. halt in military aid means that the situation on the ground is more dangerous. Your contributions help us get the body armor, medical gear, and supplies we need to stay safe.
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NEWS OF THE DAY:
TRUMP HALTS MILITARY AID TO UKRAINE: The White House has frozen all military aid to Ukraine, including packages approved by his predecessor, Joe Biden. This also applies to weapons that are in transit or stored in warehouses in Poland. The decision will remain in effect until the Ukrainian authorities "demonstrate a bona fide commitment to peace,” an official stated.
Zelenskyy does not plan to apologize to Trump or express regret over the incident in the Oval Office, BBC reported.
EU SUSPENDS NEW MILITARY AID PACKAGE FOR UKRAINE: Hungary has vetoed the draft conclusions of the European Council summit, which included a €20 billion funding package for Ukraine as well as wording on security guarantees, Politico reported.
EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESENTS ‘REARMING EUROPE’ PLAN: The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen made a statement to the press, presenting the ‘Rearming Europe’ plan. This plan includes increasing defense spending, issuing €150 billion in loans for defense procurement, and mobilizing private capital.
According to her, if EU countries increase defense spending by 1.5% of GDP, this will create a fiscal space of €650 billion over four years. The plan also envisions strengthening air defense, missile defense, artillery, and drone systems. ReArm Europe could mobilize approximately €800 billion for Europe's defense.
PENTAGON DENIES HALTING CYBER OPS AGAINST RUSSIA: The Pentagon has denied reports that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered the suspension of offensive cyber operations against Russia, Bloomberg reported. A senior official stated that no such order had been issued.
RUSSIAN MISSILE EXPERTS VISITED IRANIAN FACTORIES: Seven experts from Russia arrived in Tehran in April and September 2024. Among them were two colonels and two lieutenant colonels. Six of them had passports with the ‘20’ designation, indicating an official foreign assignment, Reuters reported.
DOG OF WAR:
Today’s Dog of War is this fluffy buddy Nastia met when first trying out her new camera. It was hard to catch a picture with the amount of energy it has.
Stay safe out there.
Best,
Yelyzaveta