Oleh Volynets, airline company manager
“It’s hard for me to even imagine Russia and America finding a common language on any grounds, including war the in Ukraine. These two countries are so different that tension between them is inevitable. And if Putin really decided to trade some concessions on Ukrainian matters, he would have nothing to offer Trump, who is a well-known dealmaker.”
Bohdan Tkachiuk, former military officer
“It seems to me that the ties between the Trump and Putin administrations are not yet very strong… Even now, with the situation in Avdiyivka, there are no reasons for there to be a deal between the United States and Russia over Ukraine.”
Olena Spivakova, pensioner
“I think that in this war, everything is connected. Any factor can be used as leverage during the negotiations between Moscow and Washington. I strongly believe that the escalation near Adviyivka is a type of blackmailing and threat by Putin against Trump. America does not want to get involved in this war, and Russia is trying to discourage it even more.”
Halyna Vysotska, pensioner
“War had been unleashed in the Donbas long before Trump ran for president. The person in charge of the United States has never been a thing to stops Putin making war. People are very delusional about this – they expect some big guy from abroad to bring peace and quiet to Ukraine. We’d be better off demanding a decent military policy from our own government, which is dragging out the conflict and sacrificing our youth on the frontline in vain.”
Olga Mozhukhina, businesswoman
“I don’t think Ukraine even came up in the conversation between Putin and Trump. We’re too tiny to be a good bargaining chip in this worldwide game. If the United States really needed to push Putin aside and found it worth doing this – the war in the Donbas would end in weeks.”
