Frustrating. Devastating. This is how Tetiana Prykhodko reacted when she heard of the plans of American president Donald Trump to end the war in Ukraine, after his telephone conversation this week with Russian President Vladamir Putin.
During the electoral campaign, Trump promised to end the war quickly.
Trump said on Wednesday that he and Putin had spent an hour on the phone and agreed to start peace negotiations – and they promised to meet soon face to face.
At the beginning, unclear that Ukraine received a seat at the negotiating table on Thursday, Trump said that Ukraine would be there. But those responsible for his administration also said that membership of NATO would not be on the table and that it is not realistic for Ukraine to expect to hand over all the land it has lost Against Russia during the war – about a fifth of Ukrainian territory.
President Donald Trump and Russian president Vladamir Putin spoke by phone on Wednesday, February 12, 2025 and agreed to start negotiations on a peace agreement in Ukraine.
Photo by Jim Wats (Photo by Jim Watson, Emmanuel Dunand / AFP via Getty Images
Prykhodko, one of the tens of thousands of Ukrainians who fled in Canada after the start of the war, said all the Ukrainians wanted peace, but she asked: “At what price?”
“People are still killed and suffer – especially in the eastern parts of Ukraine,” said Prykhodko, who was forced to flee his hometown of Chernihiv, near the border with Russia and the Bélarus, day where Putin ordered her army to invade.
The volunteers release the rubble from a house near Chernihiv, Ukraine, destroyed by Russian bombs on Saturday August 13, 2022.
(AP photo / Evgeniy Maloletka)
“When everything that spoke on television was” you have to pack “, I didn’t really take it seriously,” added Prykhodko. “After hearing the sirens, and after seeing the smoke from my window (I realized), it is not a joke and we decided to move. I have a sister in the western part of Ukraine and she called me that day and said. “You come to us”, that’s what we did. »»
“Many neighboring villages have suffered. Little raped girls, people were killed, those who were imprisoned – horrible things. I know very bad stories and it is really difficult to talk about it, “said Prykhodko.
Realizing that war would last much longer than Putin was originally boasted, his family applied and was granted to the visas to come to Canada. “My husband has a sister here and she said to us:” You come here. “”
Tetiana Prykhodko, who fled Ukraine in Canada after the outbreak of war, reflects on the prospects for peace while photos of happier moments at his home in Ukraine, before the Russian invasion.
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The reception that his family received in Canada was “incredible,” said Prykhokdo. “Canada was a wonderful place to come, and we received so much support and care.”
While she, like most Ukrainians, aspires one day to go home, she is not optimistic about the perspectives of peace under the conditions of Trump and Putin.
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It is “as a dead end – it will never end in the right direction and it makes me sad – it’s frustrating and devastating,” said Prykhokdo.
Tetiana Prykhodko, seen here during New Year’s celebrations with her family in Ukraine, just a few weeks before the invasion of Russia, fear even if a peace agreement is concluded, they will not have at home.
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“A feeling of overwhelming disappointment – total betrayal”, this is how Stephania Romaniuk, vice -president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, describes the reaction of the Ukrainian community of Calgary to the comments of Trump on the terms of peace.
“There are so many lives that have been lost, not only people who were killed, civilians, the military in Ukraine, but lives that have been broken and destroyed,” said Romaniuk.
“Maybe we are going to negotiate a peace, but at the cost of everything for which these people were fighting.”
Although she is delighted that Ukraine will be at the negotiating table, she fears that Trump “falls into the putin trap” – The addition of NATO membership for Ukraine is really the only guarantee against future Russian aggression.
“We know that Russian diplomacy means nothing when Putin arrives at the table,” said Romaniuk. “You can probably be guaranteed that he will exactly do the opposite of what he is committed – all peace transactions will only be temporary, they will be an opportunity for Russia to strengthen its forces, to prepare again to mobilize.
“Whether five, 10, 15, they will come back.”
“Total betrayal” is the way Stephania Romaniuk, vice-president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, describes the reaction of the Ukrainian community of Calgary to the comments of Trump on the terms of peace in Ukraine.
Global News
Romaniuk thinks that what’s going on in Ukraine should also be a warning for Canada.
“We share a border with Russia. As Russia feels embraced, if the results of these peace talks show them that they can take what they want, they will not stop there. »»
“There are resources in the Arctic – the changing environment will certainly have an impact on what can be extracted from there, so I think Canada must be prepared.”
For Prykhodko and his family, it’s like a horror film that will not stop.
“The peace that the Russians offer – my greatest fear is that I will have nowhere to come back. The territories which are close to the eastern border, they are devastated, there is no house – just ruins. I’m afraid about it.
“The place of your childhood, your best memories. My biggest fear is that Ukraine becomes Russia. »»
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