Northwest Indiana Ukrainians feel disappointed and betrayed by U.S. leaders’ actions against Ukrainian leaders as talks and deals, including aid for Ukraine, have fallen apart in recent days.
Olga Schulz, who grew up in Dnipro, Ukraine, said she was upset that President Donald Trump announced he would pause aid to Ukraine, which has been under Russian attack since 2014.
Trump blames Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the war and doesn’t mention Russian President Vladimir Putin beginning the war, Schulz said.
“Ukrainian people did not want that war. Putin started that war 10 years ago,” Schulz, who lives in Highland, said.
Trump on Monday directed a “pause” to U.S. assistance to Ukraine as he seeks to pressure Zelenskyy to engage in negotiations to end the war with Russia.
The move comes just days after a disastrous Oval Office meeting Friday in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance tore into Zelenskyy for what they perceived as insufficient gratitude for the more than $180 billion U.S. has appropriated for military aid and other assistance to Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
A White House official said Trump is focused on reaching a peace deal and wants Zelenskyy “committed” to that goal. The official added that the U.S. was “pausing and reviewing” its aid to “ensure that it is contributing to a solution.”
The order will remain in effect until Trump determines that Ukraine has demonstrated a commitment to peace negotiations with Russia, the official said.
Trump and Vance met Zelenskyy in the Oval Office Friday to sign an agreement for the U.S. to receive Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in exchange for the continued flow of U.S. military support to Ukraine to fight against Russia. The deal wasn’t reached after the heated meeting.
Zelenskyy said Tuesday the Oval Office meeting last week was “regrettable,” adding that he stands ready to work under Trump’s “strong leadership” to get a lasting peace deal.
He also said Ukraine is ready to sign a lucrative deal on rare-earth minerals and security with Washington.
“Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts,” he said.
The meeting “did not go the way it was supposed to be,” Zelenskyy said. “It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive.
“Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it in any time and in any convenient format,” Zelenskyy said. “We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively.”
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said U.S. help is “vital” and has saved “perhaps tens of thousands” of civilian and military lives. But he emphasized that any peace agreement must be “on Ukraine’s terms, as the victim country.”
The New York Times reported Tuesday that Zelenskyy presented his pathway to end the war. He said he was ready to release Russian prisoners of war, stop long-range drone and missile strikes aimed at Russian targets, and declare a truce at sea immediately – if Russia does the same.
Dina Spechler, a political science professor with Indiana University Bloomington, said it was a shame Friday’s Oval Office meeting played out the way it did. Spechler said she was surprised the media had access to the meeting because the leaders of the two countries were meeting to finalize a deal for Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in exchange for continued U.S. aid.
Throughout the meeting, Zelenskyy was “quite restrained,” as Vance shouted at him, Spechler said.
“(Zelenskyy) was definitely insistent, but I thought politely insistent,” Spechler said. “Vance is an echo chamber that amplifies. I think if Vance hadn’t been in the room, probably the whole thing would not have escalated.”
Given that Zelenskyy and Trump walked away Friday without reaching the deal, Spechler said she wasn’t surprised that Trump decided to pause aid.
“Trump going into the meeting, or even before he assumed the presidency, was not enthusiastic about aiding Ukraine,” Spechler said. “If anything, I was surprised that he called it a pause rather than a halt. He’s leaving a door open and that again suggests the man is a negotiator. He’s still hoping for a deal.”
Trump hasn’t applied pressure on Putin to end the war, Spechler said. Trump views Putin as an ally, she said, though with recent tariffs on other U.S. allies, it’s unclear if Trump will apply pressure on Putin moving forward.
Russian media has shown rejoicing in Moscow that the U.S. is siding with Russia, Spechler said.
“Some officials and commentators have said, ‘If you had told me even a month ago that the United States would be fully embracing Russia’s position on the war I would have laughed at you.’ So there’s surprise and delight in Moscow. That doesn’t suggest a leader or nation under pressure,” Spechler said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainians and their political leaders – even the opposition party – have fully supported and backed Zelenskyy in the days since the Oval Office meeting, Spechler said.
But without U.S. support, it will be difficult for Zelenskyy to keep fighting the war, Spechler said. That could lead Zelenskyy to become more desperate and more prepared to make concessions over time, she said.
The war has hit a kind of stalemate, Spechler said, but a stalemate in which Russia has the upper hand.
European leaders have expressed further support for Ukraine, Spechler said, but unfortunately, there’s a limit to the military and fiscal support Europe could provide.
“This is Europe’s moment to see whether it can stand up and do this,” Spechler said. “More can’t be done immediately, but it can be done with time. When I say this is the moment, this is the moment when a process needs to begin.”
Oksana Kushnir, who is from Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, said she was hopeful the Oval Office meeting would lead to an agreement that was in the “best interest of both countries.”
“I was hoping that will be signed and Ukraine will get safety guarantees. But we did not see any guarantee,” Kushnir said.
Kushnir, who lives in Munster, said Zelenskyy has been very thankful to the U.S. for its support of Ukraine throughout the war. It’s disappointing that Trump announced he would pause aid to Ukraine, she said.
“Of course, it’s disappointing because I know many people in Indiana and Ukrainians in Indiana voted for Trump, not just for economic reasons, but to end the war. They feel betrayed,” Kushnir said.
Within the last month, the Trump administration has met with Putin and Zelenskyy, and in both meetings, a solution hasn’t been reached to end the war, Kushnir said.
“I would assume he had a plan, that’s what people hoped. I don’t see that realization now,” Kushnir said.
Schulz said she was disappointed in the way the Oval Office meeting developed, particularly with a journalist asking Zelenskyy why he didn’t wear a suit to the meeting.
“He promised his people he will put on a suit when the war is over. It doesn’t matter what clothes you wear, it matters how you help people,” Schulz said. “He’s feeling bad because everything is changing fast and people are dying in Ukraine.”
With Trump pausing aid to Ukraine, Schulz said she hopes European leaders will support Ukraine more.
“I hope Trump will change his mind,” Schulz said. “He’s changing his mind all the time.”
The Associated Press contributed.
akukulka@post-trib.com
