Ukrainians Fear What Peace Might Mean as Trump Pushes for an End to War
According to the BBC, Ukrainians living near the front lines are worried about what peace might look like if U.S. President Donald Trump succeeds in stopping the war.
In places like Malokaterynivka, a village just 15km from the fighting in southern Ukraine, people are exhausted and uncertain about the future.
Oleksandr Bezhan, a local fisherman, told the BBC he has no plans for the future. For him, just waking up alive each day is a victory. The village, once bustling with life, now feels empty and frozen in time.
The nearby Dnipro River, which used to be full of water, is now dry after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam by Russian forces. This barren landscape reflects the stalled war and the uncertainty Ukrainians feel.
The BBC reports that while both Ukraine and the U.S. want peace, their visions of it are very different. Washington’s plan might mean letting Russia keep the Ukrainian land it has taken, which Ukrainians fear could lead to more fighting in the future. Ukraine, on the other hand, wants strong security guarantees to prevent further invasions.
For people like Oleksandr, the idea of the front line becoming a permanent border is terrifying. “Fighting could break out at any moment,” he says. Nearby, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, now under Russian control, looms as a reminder of the ongoing danger.
The BBC highlights the deep sense of betrayal many Ukrainians feel. They once dreamed of winning the war and joining NATO, but now they face the possibility of losing land and living under constant threat. Villagers like Natalya, who recently buried her husband, a soldier, say they have little hope for a ceasefire but desperately want the war to end.
In Malokaterynivka, life is a daily struggle. Funerals for soldiers are cut short because of artillery threats, and half the graves in the local cemetery are new.
The village’s railway, once a lifeline to Crimea, is now surrounded by barbed wire to stop Russian sabotage. Locals like Lyudmyla Volyk still dream of one day restoring the tracks and reclaiming Crimea, but after 11 years of Russian occupation, that dream feels distant.
President Zelensky insists he won’t sign any peace deal that doesn’t include Ukraine’s interests, but many Ukrainians, like Lyudmyla, are unsure if they can trust the process. “We want to believe,” she says, but the lack of details about how peace would work leaves people anxious.
The BBC notes that while peace would bring relief—like quiet nights and soldiers returning home—it also raises big questions. How would a ceasefire hold?
Who would enforce it? And what would stop Russia from taking more land in the future? For now, Ukrainians continue to fight and hope, but the road to peace remains uncertain and fraught with challenges.
Credit : BBC
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8xqkw4e08vo