Anger and betrayal are just some of the feelings among the streets of Ukraine as senior officials, veterans, politicians and ordinary soldiers lash out at being left in the cold from an unexpected 90-minute one-on-one conversation between DonaldTrump and Vladimir Putin.
One of the first things that Oleksandr Yarmak, a former front-line drone pilot and commander, thought was that “this world has no future, if Russia is not punished for its bloody deeds”.
The Ukrainian rap star, who is also head of research and development in the country’s new unmanned aerial vehicle force, told the Independent: “Regardless of the plans of Trump and the murderous Putin, we will defend our country.”
Last year Mr Yarmak said: “We will never forgive the murder of our loved ones and children, the millions of broken lives, the destroyed cities. Russia will pay for this; Russia will leave our territory, apologise, and pay reparations.”
Ukrainians are drawing an analogy between Neville Chamberlain’s efforts to appease Hitler in 1938 which ultimately did not prevent the outbreak of World War 2.
Volodymyr Omelyan, a major in a homeland defence regiment who was badly wounded by a Russian airstrike in eastern Ukraine last year said: ”Munich ’38 was just the beginning, not the end. Russia and China will use this situation to take Europe. Only if the UK, France and Germany will take the lead over the continent, we can survive”.
Condemning Trump’s actions Mr Omelyan warned: “His approach to please the beast is wrong and will lead to big problems.”
On a dramatic Wednesday night President Trump had a “lengthy and highly productive” phone call with Putin in which the leaders agreed to begin negotiations to end the war in Ukraine “immediately”.
Senior lawmaker Leonid Slutsky, head of the Duma’s international affairs committee, claimed the meeting could take place soon, as early as in February or March in Saudi Arabia, according to Russian state news agency RIA.
The US has suggested that, as part of a peace deal, Ukraine must accept it will have to give up some territory to Russia and it is unlikely Ukraine would join Nato, which will come as a bitter disappointment to Kyiv.
