Ahead of the direct talks between Ukraine and Russia, CNN gauged the mood from the Ukrainian capital.
Kyiv was full of people wearing the vyshyvanka – an embroidered shirt that has become a symbol of national strength and is traditionally worn out on the third Thursday in May.
All the same, despite the festive atmosphere on the streets, most Ukrainians to whom CNN spoke said they had no faith that possible negotiations with Russia would change anything.
“We would very much like to see a truce, but with this enemy, there will be none,” said Daniil, who works for the State Emergency Service in Odesa and had come to Kyiv for a meeting.
The 23-year-old added he was impressed Zelensky had proposed direct talks with the Russian leader but acknowledged there were limits to what Ukraine’s leader would be able to do in any meeting.
“I would like Zelensky to punch Putin in the face, but I understand you can’t do that in politics.”
For 72-year-old Liudmyla Vasiyk and 76-year-old Dina Fedina, the future also looks bleak. Returning from computer literacy courses, the two friends told CNN they have no positive expectations.
“Putin will not come. He is afraid. He wants to capture Ukraine and restore the Soviet Union. We want everything to end well, but that will not happen. Everything will remain the same. Except that we will be nervous, anxious and stressed,” said Liudmyla Vasyuk.
They also said they do not expect much help from Donald Trump, dismissing him as “a businessman who needs money, not Ukraine.”
Meanwhile a Ukrainian soldier deployed in the southern Zaporizhzhia region told CNN in a phone call that he simply expected to hear Russia repeating the same talking points, should any meetings take place.
“Most likely, the negotiating team of the aggressor country [Russia] will demonstrate its non-negotiable position by defending the non-existent ‘root causes’ of the war,” the officer with the call-sign ‘Bankir’ said, referring to the Kremlin’s insistence on a demilitarised Ukraine which stays out of western alliances.
His position had been shelled by Russian artillery overnight, he said, adding: “Regardless of the negotiations, we carry on with our job and continue to fight.”
