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For the past two weeks, a palpable nervousness has gripped Ukraine. Faces are drawn, eyes filled with concern. Ukrainians have watched in shock as their American ally wavered and as Donald Trump launched attacks on their country, their president and their future — first on social media, then from the Oval Office, followed by the suspension of U.S. aid and intelligence sharing.
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"I wouldn’t say that the U.S. has betrayed us," says [Ukrainian] Vlad Ivanchuk, in his 40s. "But one thing is certain: we will never fully trust the Americans again. Our future is in Europe, and I know that Europe will never abandon us."
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Some fear that a pause in hostilities and the U.S. rapprochement with Moscow could give the Russians time to regroup and rearm for a wider attack.
“Just like in 1936, when they feared Hitler and gave him everything he wanted, only to end up with a war anyway — and then they wondered, ‘How did this happen?’” the anonymous soldier says, adding: “You can't negotiate with a tiger when your head is in its mouth.”
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"I don’t want my city [Mykolaiv] to end up under Russian occupation just because Trump and Putin decided so," [one Ukrainian woman] says.