Ukrainians, Russians split between fear and hope on Trump

As Donald Trump was sworn into office in the US, residents of Kyiv and Moscow who spoke Monday were divided between mistrust of his intentions and hope for a favorable outcome to the war in Ukraine.

Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Washington has provided vital military and economic support to Kyiv.

But during his campaign, Trump criticized this aid and promised to resolve the conflict quickly — raising fears in Europe and Ukraine that Kyiv, which aspires to join the EU and NATO, would be forced to make major concessions.

But for Mykhailo Pishtoy, a 78-year-old Kyiv retiree, Trump’s business background and his aversion to “losing of being challenged” may make him just the person to impose an “ultimatum” on Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin.

Pishtoy wants to see an end to Moscow ruling Crimea, annexed by Russia in 204, and hopes that Trump can help end a decade of fighting in Ukraine — which began when Moscow took the Black Sea Peninsula and backed Ukrainian pro-Russia separatists in the east of the country.

“I have been an internally displaced person since 2014 in Kyiv,” he said. “We have been waiting for 10 years.”

Also in Kyiv, 35-year-old entrepreneur Yulia was hoping that Trump could end the current conflict — which next month will have dragged on for three years — because it is so deadly and does not “benefit” Ukraine.

“We have a lot of (people) dead. We have a shortage of weapons and everything else,” she said.

“We need to end it, otherwise we will not exist.”

‘Anything possible’

In Moscow, music professor Irina Kharitonova also wanted an end to the conflict, saying she had hope that Trump would be “good” to Russia.

“I would really like it, honestly, because we are tired of living in these troubles,” she said.

“So many (peoples’) relatives have been lost, so many miseries are happening, it just falls on you and you don’t know how to live with it,” she said.

Russia, which launched the Ukraine invasion in 2022, has portrayed the US as the guilty party in the conflict — and in the Russian capital, suspicion towards Trump is still strong.

Svetlana, a 55-year-old IT worker, called Trump an “imperialist” who “lives on the back of other countries.”

For administrator Dmitri, it made no difference who was in the White House — Joe Biden or Donald Trump — as the 55-year-old believed, echoing conspiracy theories, that unknown forces were behind any US leader.

In Kyiv, 32-year-old Inna could not tell if Trump would negotiate with Moscow on “good or bad” terms for Ukraine.

Her native town, she said, was regularly attacked by Russian-launched drones and she worried the Republican would reduce military aid to Ukraine.

Mykyta, a 23-year-old Ukranian, said he was initially a Trump supporter but now calls him a “crazy man,” and said “anything is possible,” while sceptical the war will end in 2025.