Ukrainian military veteran Andrii Pobihai, who retired as the commander of the infantry company of the 11th separate motorized rifle battalion in 2019, expressed disgust over US President Donald Trump’s recent statements accusing Ukraine of starting the war, according to the New York Times.
Recently, Trump accused Ukraine of being responsible for starting the war and also criticized the country for refusing to sign a contract with the US for mineral extraction. Furthermore, the US president harshly criticized Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, claiming that he had lost the trust of Ukrainians and that elections should be held in Ukraine. This pro-Kremlin narrative has been interpreted by global media as an attempt by Russia and the US to remove Zelenskyy from power.
According to the report, Pobihai attended a funeral in Bucha in uniform and was one of about 40 people who came to bid farewell to his comrade, who died of a heart attack at the age of 48.
Bucha is the city in Kyiv Oblast which, has become a notorious symbol of Russian brutality and war crimes against civilians. The Russians took it over within days in February 2022, and in the month that followed, they killed more than 400 people, including women and children.
Pobihai questioned the meaning of ceasefire talks that involved senior US and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia this week but excluded representatives from Ukraine, the country being attacked by Russia.
“I am very, very angry,” the veteran said.
He had commanded 54 soldiers near Mariupol, but according to him, the Russians killed all of these Ukrainian soldiers— the last one just four days ago.
“The best guys are dying. How can you talk to these jackals?” he asked emotionally.
He voiced hope that perhaps Trump would change his mind.
“When Russia conquers Ukraine and mobilizes the best Ukrainian fighters into the Russian army, then goes against NATO and Europe, maybe then,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.
The report notes that when the Joe Biden administration was in charge, the US was Ukraine’s most powerful ally. Now, Ukrainians are left with many questions: Did Trump say this just out of the blue? Has the US really sided with Russia, the outcast on the world stage?
“Now he’s going to help the Russians?” asked Alla Kriuchkova.
At the moment when an interview was taken, she was waiting outside the military recruitment center in Bucha for her husband, who had just been drafted.
“They destroyed everything here, and now we’re supposed to give up? How does that work? If America leaves us, we are screwed,” she said.
The report also quotes a 50-year-old woman from Bucha who lost her husband during the city’s occupation. She told journalists that investigators had recently identified the Russian soldiers who killed her husband.
“Now I am afraid that the court will do nothing, because of what’s happening politically. They will say that the Russians are fine. The thing I’m most afraid of is that they will say we are guilty ourselves. That we are guilty of killing ourselves,” she said.
Earlier, The Economist wrote that the latest statements from US President Donald Trump’s team, calling for a ceasefire without security guarantees and immediate elections, indicate that events are unfolding in the worst-case scenario for Ukraine. Trump is reportedly planning to get rid of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and called him a “dictator.”
If Ukraine rejects this plan, Trump may reduce or halt military aid. He could also unilaterally lift sanctions on Russia. Another lever of influence is Starlink, a key battlefield communication system in Ukraine, which Trump could order to be shut down
Related:
- Reality check: Zelenskyy’s approval is 54%, not 4% as Trump claims—and it still beats Trump’s
- Western nations condemn Russian elections in occupied Ukraine as illegitimate
- Zelenskyy refutes Trump’s $ 500 billion aid claim, says Ukraine received $ 98.5 billion from US
