a day ago
Ukrainians in Boston not optimistic about President Trump's meeting with Zelenskyy; "It makes me mad"
As President Donald Trump prepares for the high stakes meeting on Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, back home in Boston, Ukrainians don't feel optimistic.
Since the war started three years ago, Yelena Cannata has been volunteering and employing every resource she has for the children of Ukraine to be introduced to early intervention services.
"It makes me mad. I have zero trust in President Trump in regulating this war," said Cannata. She hopes Zelenskyy avoids a repeat of that infamous February meeting he had with the president in the Oval Office. "I do hope that out of tomorrow's meeting that lots of the European leaders will come in, there won't be that bullying like the last meeting in the Oval Office and there will be no nonsense about the suit. It should be concrete, normal adult conversation."
On Friday, President Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. The summit ended early and with the two leaders making remarks without taking any questions.
Vsevolod Petriv is head of the Boston chapter of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, an organization that looks out for the interest of Ukrainians in America, providing assistance as it relates to community service and politics. He said the president's recent meeting with Putin was disappointing and a peace deal would come at too much of a cost.
"I don't see anything good coming out of it, given the current announcements. And it sounds like he's trading what they are saying is land," said Petriv. "The people in the area of Donbas that they haven't been able to take, they've been fighting hard for at least three years and so you are going to say to all those people we are going to give you to the aggressor that you've been fighting for peace that we know is meaningless because Putin will be back."
Both Cannata and Petriv said they'll be looking to see what the next steps will be.
"If you are going to give up the lands, which were just occupied without any rights, any rights, how would you consider this peace deal?" said Cannata.
