Ukraine is afraid of what Trump may seem

“I have no plans for the future at all.” “If you wake up in the morning, this is really good.”

Malokaterynivka is only 15 km (9 miles) north of the confrontation line in the Zaporizhhia region in Ukraine.

If US President Donald Trump succeeds in stopping the war, Malokaterynivka hopes that it will end on the right side of the confrontation line.

I visited the last time in this region in 2023, when Ukraine launched a very capacity of its capacity.

At that time, the Ukrainians dared to dream of winning this war. After all, they won the battle of Kiev and the witch of the liberated lands elsewhere.

But after 18 months, thunder artillery exchange reflects the failure of that process and the dominance of Russia.

The front line here is widely in the same place – but the extension of the wide river has gone.

When the Russian Kakhovka Dam was destroyed, this became a vast and uncomplicated extension of Scrubland.

The arid surrounding areas reflects that frozen forgetfulness finds Ukraine itself. The White House wants to end the war, but it is not like that of a full -time whistle.

“If the confrontation line becomes limits, it will be frightening … the fighting can erupt at any moment,” explains Olexander.

The open river course separates our location from the lands occupied by the Russian. The sun’s rays are far from the mineral zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, in the grip of Moscow since 2022.

Ukraine and the United States want peace, but this is where the consensus seems to end.

Washington’s vision of it, along with the facts of the battlefield, means that Russia is likely to retain the seizure of the Ukrainian land.

Ukraine wants significant security guarantees that would prevent the invasion forces from pressure across the river.

Instead, Donald Trump denied Kiev’s dream of joining the NATO alliance focusing on Russia.

After I saw and reported the battle of Ukraine for more than three years, it is difficult for the country to obtain it.

There are feelings of betrayal. Commentators criticize either Ukrainian President Zelinski or the new foreign policy of its largest ally.

“The boundaries do not depend on us,” says Olikander. “Maybe it will not work, but Seoul 30 km from North Korea, and they live and flourish somehow.”

The Malokaterynivka Challenge is to find a new purpose in the heart of the future of Ukraine.

While politicians talk about talks, Ukrainians continue to fight and die.

The villagers meet the funeral of a local soldier, also called oleksandr. Half of the graves are drilled in the cemetery recently.

The ceremony cannot last more than 25 minutes due to the threat of artillery. The mourners flow and duck for the cover when his comrades shoot a gun.

“I have no hope for a ceasefire,” says his widow Natalia, who wants to prove her mistake.

“They only continue to send more and more our children to the forefront. If they are not only able to find a way to end it.”

Besides the river, a deserted railway surrounded by barbed wire.

“It is to prevent Russian factors from sabotaging the path,” explains to Yuddella Folic, who lived in Malocatrinvka throughout her life.

The trains used to operate along the Crimea in the south.

“We hope it will be restored one day,” says 65 -year -old, with optimism. “This is one day we will go to the Crimea.”

It makes it difficult to imagine in the peninsula from the Russian occupation.

President Zelinski insists that he will not sign any agreement that does not include Ukraine. Will Lyudmyla trust it to obtain a deal that protects it?

“We want to believe,” she answered after a deep breath.

If Donald Trump brings peace to Ukraine, he will be welcomed in many circles.

The possibility of nights without interruption, the silence of silent warning sirens and soldiers returning to the homeland.

But as things continue, any relief will be immersed quickly due to the unanswered questions about how to stop the ceasefire and who will be applied.

Kyiv will see this absence for the details as something that still plays. The problem for Ukraine is that Russia is also.

Additional reports by Svetlana Laibet, Toby Lakhour and Hannah Chornos