Kyiv, Ukraine (AP) – In kyiv, the Ukrainians living under a daily Russian bombardment looked at the most important ally of their country deployed a red carpet in Alaska for the man whom they blame for more than three years of war, blood and loss.
Natalya Lypei, 66, resident of Kyiv, made a double grip. But the flashing images on the screen of his phone were real: US President Donald Trump warmly welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin while the Russian chief approached him, after being escorted in the country by four American fighter planes.
Trump also ignored the arrest warrant issued for Putin by the International Criminal Court which mainly confined it to the house or in nations which are strong allies.
“How can you welcome a tyrant like that?” She asked, echoing the thoughts of many Kyiv residents.
The treatment of the red carpet, the lack of concrete decisions for Ukraine and, above all, neglecting the importance of the sanctions – a policy that could transform kyiv’s trend – were felt as a betrayal for the Ukrainians who have undergone enormous suffering for almost three years and a quarter for the complete invasion of Russia.
Tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers, the bravest and most qualified in the country, were killed and injured, thousands of civilians were killed in Russian strikes, and a fifth of the country is under occupation, covering families, properties and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
On Ukrainian social networks, the memes of Putin and Trump walking in a red carpet dotted with dead Ukrainian bodies were widely shared.
Zelenskyy had planned that the meeting would be a boon for Putin and that there would be very few results. Addressing journalists in the days before the meeting, he said that it would end up being a public relations victory for the Russian chief. Above all, he was looking for a photo on American soil – which he obtained at the meeting on Friday.
It was the first time in a decade that Putin made feet in the United States, ending international isolation stimulated by the Ukrainian invasion of 2022; In other words, it was a victory. For Lypei, whose soldier’s son was killed last year, it was like attending another burial, a new loss. This time, his country’s hopes for just peace.
“It hurts me a lot that my child died in a large-scale war, and today we saw new funeral,” she said. Her 34 -year -old son fought with the 79th Brigade of Ukraine and was killed in the Donetsk region, the very region that Putin wants Ukraine leaving as a condition for a truce.
“I don’t wish anyone of sadness, this sadness, these tears,” she said.
Natalya Cucil, 60, another resident of kyiv said she was surprised that Trump produced no results from the meeting, despite his declared efforts to end the war.
“There is no results and we do not know if there will be, although we always expect something and hope,” she said.
Retired Anatolii Kovalenko, 72, said that no matter what was discussed between the two leaders, it is clear that the opponent of his country won in the sphere of public relations.
“Putin won this 100%meeting,” he said.
