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Mark


"This is not how I imagined the world"



Donald Trump is turning his back on Ukraine. Many people in the country are horrified and disappointed – and this seems to be bringing them closer together again.



By and and , Kyiv, March 4, 2025

The relationship between the governments in Washington, DC, and Kyiv is currently deteriorating daily. What do those who are most affected think? Photographer Sasha Maslov has portrayed Ukrainians and asked them about their mood.

Trump, says Oleksandr, is like a second Putin. He takes what he can. That doesn't bode well for Ukraine . "Even if the war were to end quickly, it certainly wouldn't be under good conditions for us," adds his companion Anton, a student. Neither of them really believes, however, that the war will end any time soon.

Oleksandr and Anton believe that the scandal in the White House was deliberately caused by the USA.

What the two describe here largely corresponds to the mood in Ukraine . First of all, there is great horror at how quickly the USA is turning away. First Trump called President Zelensky a dictator, then he and his vice president JD Vance humiliated him in front of cameras in the White House . And now the USA has announced that it will temporarily suspend all military aid to Ukraine - probably in order to force Ukraine into a weaker negotiating position. 



Andriy Viktorovych is convinced: "Ukraine will win the war, one way or another."


Andriy Viktorovych, who runs a stall at a flea market in Kyiv, also believes this. "Trump is a businessman, and that's how he does politics," says the 51-year-old. Trump just wants to exploit the country's resources. Viktorovych is referring to a raw materials agreement between the USA and Ukraine that was supposed to have been signed last Friday before the entire meeting in the White House escalated and the planned deal fell through. 




The US President then accused Zelensky of not being particularly respectful. This is an assessment that the people of Ukraine do not share. "To put it carefully: it was the USA that did not behave particularly diplomatically," says 22-year-old Ksenia Kondaurova. Zelensky held his own in the situation as best he could. She believes that Trump is now trying to blackmail Ukraine by suspending arms aid is manipulative. "Nobody wants peace more than Ukraine. But we don't want peace for a few months, we want peace for generations."



Ksenia Kondaurova is a language teacher. Her home in eastern Ukraine has been occupied by Russia since 2014. She says she has no hope of ever seeing it again.

This also reflects part of the mood in Ukraine. Recently, the president has come under increasing criticism in his own country. The elections that were suspended due to martial law, the mobilization of many young men, setbacks at the front and general war fatigue were probably reasons for this. But is his own president a dictator? This attack went too far for many. Since the attacks from Washington, support for Zelensky has grown stronger. Many people like the fact that Zelensky  has not allowed himself to be intimidated by Trump's insults.




Viktoria, 18, and Mariana, 22, are students in Ukraine. Mariana comes from the Donbass, which has been partially occupied by Russia since 2014. She grew up in the war. "I want us to get our lost land back," she says.



Kateryna Cowina sees it the same way. "I support our president," she says. She had expected Trump to make some harsh decisions as president. "But not in our direction, but against our enemy, against Putin." Cowina is disappointed. "It now seems as if the USA is making common cause with North Korea and Russia . This is not how I imagined the world would be."




Kateryna Cowina says about the U-turn of the USA: "The whole thing feels like a game that I don't understand."

"A tragedy for the whole world," is how Olena describes it. In her opinion, the decisions made by the USA will lead to more people dying in Ukraine. But the 57-year-old is combative: " We have survived Russia for 300 years ." And there are other partners besides the USA with whom we can work together.  




Olena says: "I think we have a genetic predisposition to be resistant."

That sounds optimistic, almost defiant. But it is unlikely to be that easy. Beyond the United States, there is no alliance partner in sight that could compensate for a total failure of the USA as a supplier of weapons, ammunition and as a financial supporter, at least not in the short or medium term and not alone.  




The soldier with the battle name Maple wishes to remain anonymous. The Canadian has been fighting in the Ukrainian army since 2023. "I initially thought Trump's rhetoric was a joke," he says. "But now I know he's serious."