Despite their sincere desire to return to peaceful life, Ukrainian servicemen reject the peace plan announced by the Americans to end the war, as it involves significant concessions to Russia, NBC News reported.
Senior Sergeant Volodymyr Rzhavskyi, who is defending the city of Pokrovsk, considers Trump's plan completely unacceptable for Ukraine.
"It's not a plan. It's a real capitulation. There is nothing to discuss here," Rzhavskyi told NBC News.
The 28-point proposal would recognize the Donbas—comprising fiercely contested Donetsk and Russia-controlled Luhansk—as de facto Russian territory. For Rzhavskyi, 44, who commands a drone unit in his native Donetsk oblast, this is personal.
"Of course, for me this is a painful issue, because all of this is happening in my homeland," he said.
Four years on the front lines have destroyed his health, Rzhavskyi said. He wants to focus on recovery and his two sons, ages 5 and 14. But he demands accountability from leadership before any withdrawal.
"If it comes without an explanation, it will not be carried out. It is not the state leadership sitting in the trenches. It is our boys in the trenches. They have the right to decide."
Security guarantees rejected
Oleksandr, a 43-year-old lieutenant with Ukraine's special forces fighting in the south, rejected another key provision—the proposed 600,000-strong cap on Ukraine's military.
"Nobody will make concessions on the size of the military, because it's our security guarantee," he told NBC News. "Nobody will make concessions on the territories, because it's our land and we stand here."
Before the war, Oleksandr ran a cocktail bar in central Kyiv. Now he's focused on one thing: "If we don't stop them now, then our children will have to do this, and we can't let this happen."
"My soul is torn"
Lt. Dmytro Melnyk, a drone operator in Dnipropetrovsk oblast, described the daily reality of fighting with inferior equipment against superior Russian numbers.
"The Russians are not better warriors than us. There are just so few of us," said Melnyk, 46, a Paralympic athlete who competed in Paris last summer on battlefield leave.
Despite years of combat, Melnyk harbors hope for peace—but not on these terms.
"At the beginning of the war, we were like 'Go, go, go,' and it's not the case anymore. Obviously, I won't stop until the war is done, but my soul is torn," Melnyk said. "I won't hide it. There is a constant fear of dying."
Analysts question rush to deal
Military analyst Mykola Bielieskov of the National Institute for Strategic Studies questioned the logic that Ukraine should accept unfavorable terms before losing more territory.
"It's much worse when we make unilateral concessions and withdraw from the Donetsk region, but Russia retains potential and can now threaten neighboring regions," he said.
Asking soldiers "who risked their lives and lost their comrades to slow down the Russian offensive" to abandon positions they still hold "won't be taken positively," Bielieskov added.
Junior Lt. Oleh Zontov, 58, who served in Donetsk before moving to a civilian-focused role, acknowledged abandoning Ukrainian-controlled territories would be "a very controversial decision" causing "outrage and negativity within the military."
Still, Zontov welcomed that "some" peace plan exists. His definition of victory has shifted with battlefield realities: "Today, victory would probably mean stopping the enemy where it is now and holding it at these positions."
