At 9am on Saturday morning, a group of women spread beyond the busiest road at the Kyiv Center and stopped traffic to observe a minute of silence. One speaker has 60 ticks before the national anthem opening lines descend – “The glory and freedom of Ukraine have not yet disappeared.”
Drivers and passengers came out of their cars, staying in a quiet tribute while the music echoed on the streets.
It was a wonderful manifestation of respect, resistance, and opposition-a mark of Ukraine’s response in the three years since Russia’s full occupation caused the worst conflict in Europe since World War II.
And it seemed to be of particular meaning the day after the clash of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with US President Donald Trump and vice president JD Vance.
The Ukrainians, hardened by repeated Russian and fast attacks to gather in the face of foreign threats, are throwing their support after their leader after the shocking meeting which has strained many links to Kyiv with Washington.
“Zelensky acted correctly. Even if it costs us a lot, it was about dignity, ”said Solomiia Bobrovska, an opposition MP and a member of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and Intelligence.
Attacks by Trump and Vance will – in the short term, at least – galvanize Ukraine’s troops, said a commander in a artillery unit fighting in the first Eastern line for Financial Times.
“It was a filthy show and Trump did not hide (his contempt)” for zelenskyy, he said. “It is a great memory of the necessity to rely solely on ourselves, with all respect for those who have helped us.”
In this, opposition lawmaker Inna Sovsun urged her compatriots to “keep calm”. “This is not the worst we have faced – though, like any knife on my back, mostly when it is unexpected,” she said.
Some saw the very public line as a winning propaganda for the Kremlin.
“It seems that President Trump exaggerated when he said there is a big ocean between Russia and JSC,” said Stanislav Aseyev, a Ukrainian writer and former soldier, in a post on X. today, America was closer to Moscow than at any time in history. “
Throughout Ukraine, there is a real understanding that the country has entered its most dangerous phase of war since Russia’s attacks on Kyiv in the weeks of the campaign open three years ago. Trump’s charge that Zelenskyy is “Gambling with World War II” has deepened the concern.
A government counselor who watches the drama unfolded at a dinner in Kyiv on Friday evening described the feeling “in danger” for fear that the hostility of the US president would lead to the abandonment of Ukraine. “Trump humiliated the Ukrainian President,” the counselor said.
The Ukrainians had expected Trump and Zelenskyy to sign a mineral deal – a step Zelenskyy sees it as important to provide US support for future ceasefire guarantees. But a person present with Zelenskyy at the Oval office told FT that the deal had been signed.
Volodymyr Fesenko, director of the Penta Center for Political Studies, a Kyiv opinion, said he had expected tensions to light during the future peace negotiations, given that Trump and Zelenskyy’s positions were not fully related-“but it happened much earlier” than he thought.
“Considering. . . The extreme emotionality of both Zelensky and Trump, and the provocative role of JD Vance, this would happen (at one point), ”Fesenko said.
He said the West is now facing a complete crisis, both in the relationship between Zelenskyy and Trump and at the interstate level. “
The screaming match has prompted Ukrainians’ concerns about US support resistance.
Members of Parliament and Ukraine soldiers fighting in the front line said they are afraid of recruitment from the US, which has provided $ 66 billion in military aid over the past three years.
Trump can cut the security assistance that Ukraine must maintain the advances of Russian forces in the East Ukraine battlefields, and to overthrow the missiles and drones that attack its critical infrastructure daily.
It can also cut the Starlink links provided by Elon Musk’s Spacex, which are widely used by the Ukraine army to communicate and operate drone in the front line of 1,000 km. Any weakness of support in the US would give Moscow an advantage.
“It is not just about weapons-the most important, the US provides Ukraine with intelligence, including real-time information about Russian missiles and drone omissions, for which we are fully dependent on,” said Volodymyr Ariev, an opposition lawmaker and a close ally of former President Petro Poroshenko.
Ariev said Ukraine and SH.BA “must find diplomatic solutions” to repair relationships so that “the Trump administration can maintain aid already agreed”.
About $ 3.85 billion of what Congress authorized for additional withdrawal from Pentagon shares remains to be delivered, according to Ukraine and US officials.
“Both sides are at fault, but Ukraine is in a more tangible situation,” Ariev said. “So we have to set aside all reflections and emotions and focus on the results (taking).”
On Saturday Zelenskyy went to social media to offer thanks to Trump and American people for their “vital” support. But, he said, it was important to be “sincere and straightforward” and repeated his position for a ceasefire.
“As President Reagan once said,” Peace is not just the lack of war, “Zelenskyy wrote. “We are talking about fair and sustainable peace – freedom, justice and human rights for all. A ceasefire will not work with Putin. He has broken ceasefire 25 times over the past 10 years. A real peace is the only solution.”
Additional reporting from Fabrice Deprez to Kyiv
