Native Ukrainian left speechless after ‘no deal' summit
Ukrainian-American Volodymyr Valchuk said he already had low expectations for the high-stakes summit between President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
But after listening to the world leaders meet in person for the first time in six years to end Russia's war in Ukraine, Valchuk admitted this was a head-shaker.
"I'm speechless. I have nothing to say. I really didn't expect much, but this is even worse than I thought," Valchuk, 46, told USA TODAY. "That's what I'm feeling right now."
Valchuk, a respiratory therapist who lives in San Rafael, California, said he's "very disappointed" when Trump said "no deal" was reached to end the three-year Ukraine war.
'At least they could've given us a little idea what Putin said the agreement was,' Valchuk said about the summit held in Anchorage, Alaska. 'Trump said he will talk to NATO and (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy, but I really don't know what that means?
'Yeah, I'm disappointed,' said Valchuk, who came from Ukraine to the US to attend college in 1996. 'Very disappointed.'
Valchuk, who gained his American citizenship in 2004, said he doesn't know what will happen next for his homeland.
'I just hope it's not going to cost Ukraine some of its land and more lives,' Valchuk said. 'I hope.'
Live updates: Trump, Putin meet in Alaska summit
How the war looks for two Ukrainian teens currently in the US
For two Ukrainian-born teenagers, Taisiia Grygorova and Sofiia Kopytko, who are spending this summer performing across the East Coast in a play titled "Voices from Ukraine: Stories of War and Hope," they told USA TODAY that no matter what outcome comes from the summit in Anchorage, Alaska, the war can't end soon enough.
Grygorova, 19, who lives in Kharkiv, a city near the Ukrainian-Russian border, said despite the constant rocket attacks, drones, air raids, and explosions, her thoughts are always with the people suffering through the continuous combat.
Grygorova, who's studying journalism at Warsaw International University, said she regularly returns to Kharkiv to visit her parents and four younger siblings, despite the dangers.
"And every time I go there I prepare myself, 'Taia, you're going for two weeks, and it's a 100% chance that you will get under a rocket attack at least four times during this time, but you'll be fine, your younger brothers and sisters live in this nightmare every day, you can handle two weeks,'" Grygorova said.
Grygorova said her youngest brother, a six-year-old, is supposed to start school this year, but she wonders how with the threat of bombings.
"You will ask, 'What risk?' Well, there is always a possibility that one of those bombs, which are flying over the city, will hit a school where kids are studying," Grygorova said. "My brother is going to study underground, with no sunlight, with no possibility to play outside, to run freely over a football pitch or hear the birds singing."
Grygorova said her mother keeps all of the family documents near the front door, just in case they need to leave their house forever.
"That's how the war looks for me and my family," Grygorova said.
Sofiia Kopytko, 18, from Chernihiv, Ukraine, said the war has not only been about territory, the lack of resources and weapons, but also the doctors who work in critical conditions, and families like Grygorova's who live in occupied territories and face death daily as a result of random air strikes.
"Human lives are not statistics, but the most valuable thing that each of us has, and we must protect it," Kopytko said. "After all, you never know what tomorrow holds and whether it will come at all."
Grygorova said she desperately wants the war to end so that people can live their lives in peace.
"I hope that when the war is over, I'll be able to visit my family without fear," Grygorova said. "I hope that my city will be renovated. I hope I'll be able to help in the rebuilding of my country, where I want my future kids to grow up."
Kopytko said her wishes are quite simple.
"That there will be no more news of death and destruction, just simple happiness," Kopytko said. "Of course, I can talk about building a career and a family, but for me, these are the components of the happiness I strive for. First and foremost, free people in a free country. In a free Ukraine."
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