Defiant Ukrainians blame Trump for ‘betrayal’ amid horror of newest battlefield losses | EUROtoday

On the bottom, Ukrainians are conscious about the repercussions of Donald Trump’s hardline resolution to chop support and entry to army intelligence within the wake of his fateful White House row with Volodymyr Zelensky.

During the final day of combating alone, Russian commandos have reportedly spearheaded an assault utilizing an deserted oil pipeline to sneak behind Ukrainian forces occupying a part of Russia’s Kursk area.

Elite airborne and marine models backed by North Korean troopers additionally launched full-frontal assaults on the Ukrainians beneath a barrage of artillery, drones and air assaults.

The newest assaults come after Vladimir Putin’s escalated violence was described as “what anybody else would do” by Mr Trump.

And leaving Ukraine at the hours of darkness has definitely given Putin a vital benefit. “We’re losing,” one Ukrainian combating in Kursk wrote in a textual content message to The Independent.

Meanwhile, in Kyiv, small crowds gathered on Sunday to help calls for for the discharge of prisoners of battle captured by Russia.

They additional marked the birthday of Ukraine’s most celebrated poet, Taras Shevchenko, who fought for the popularity of his mom tongue within the nineteenth century.

Many Ukrainians are defiant at what they see as Russia’s newest try to wipe them out utterly. And they reacted with scorn in direction of the assistance that Mr Trump has given Russia.

“It’s a betrayal. This whole war has been a betrayal,” mentioned one supporter who would solely give her first identify, Victoria.

She recalled the tales she heard from her grandmother of the final main Russian-led try to destroy a rustic that Putin claims “does not exist”.

Scared of historical past repeating itself, she advised The Independent: “My relatives, my grandmother, her family, my great-grandmother, all suffered from it; they starved in the 1930s.

“My grandmother told me some terrible stories. How she had to get food… in the neighbouring villages, people were eating people, from hunger. It really happened.”

Tetiana Chugonova mentioned her son, Shulga Ruslan Igorovych, was captured whereas combating in Mariupol throughout one of many largest battles of the present battle. She has had solely two letters from him, and mentioned he’s now a prisoner of battle in Russia.

When requested if she thinks Mr Trump might assist, she replied: “Not really. I think Trump is leaning towards Moscow, towards Russia.”

British businessman and scientist Alexander Fergusson got here out to hitch the demonstrations. His firm produces FPV (First Person View) drones for the Ukrainian armed forces.

Dr Fergusson mentioned: “I am extremely frustrated [over the Trump administration’s new support for Putin]. I have a lot of American friends who, I would say, are apoplectic with rage.

“I am here to show my support and that come hell or high weather, I am going to stand with Ukraine.”

Meanwhile Mr Zelensky is because of journey to Saudi Arabia to satisfy with crown prince Mohammed bin Salman within the coming days. Ukraine may even have a workforce that can keep on in Riyadh because the US begins talks with Ukrainian and Russian officers.

Mr Zelensky wrote on social media platform X: “Ukraine has been seeking peace from the very first second of this war. Realistic proposals are on the table. The key is to move quickly and effectively.

“On our side, we are fully committed to constructive dialogue, and we hope to discuss and agree on the necessary decisions and steps.”

But following the newest assaults, the Russians have been capable of drive a wedge into the territory in Kursk that Ukraine had hoped to make use of in any future negotiations with the Kremlin.

And with the US now seen throughout Europe as firmly in Russia’s camp, it’s feared the talks could show to be fruitless.

There are additional considerations that Mr Trump’s adviser Elon Musk could attempt to gag Ukraine’s forces by reducing off the Starlink satellite tv for pc system, which is the army’s major technique of communication.

Mr Musk threatened on Sunday to close down Starlink in Ukraine, including the nation’s “entire front line would collapse if I turned it off”.

Mr Musk began out as a supporter of Ukraine’s battle effort after the Russian invasion of 2022. But since becoming a member of Mr Trump’s election marketing campaign and now his employees, the billionaire has swung firmly behind Putin.

“What I am sickened by is years of slaughter in a stalemate that Ukraine will inevitably lose,” he wrote.

He has not demanded that Putin observe a ceasefire and has endorsed campaigns for the US to go away Nato, which Putin sees as a serious risk to his regime.

“Doesn’t make sense for America to pay for the defence of Europe,” Mr Musk added.

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, identified for his extravagant claims of Russian army successes, claimed on Sunday that latest advances in Kursk meant Kyiv’s troopers have been virtually surrounded.

He wrote: “The lid of the smoking cauldron is almost closed. The offensive continues.”

An estimated 10,000 Ukrainian troopers could also be within the Kursk salient. These embody British, American, French, German and different volunteers from all over the world, who’ve been serving in Ukraine’s International Legion on the entrance strains over the previous three years.

But regardless of the newest experiences, one veteran of the legion, who skilled ferocious battles in Luhansk and Bakhmut, had a constructive view of the enduring dedication of the troopers.

“It’s looking bad for them, but they won’t be trapped. They’ll fight their way out,” he mentioned.