Ukrainians slam Trump-Putin summit as meaningless amid daily Russian strikes

Pavlo Nebroev stayed up until the middle of the night in Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv to wait for a press conference between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin thousands of kilometres away.

The US and Russian leaders had met in Alaska to discuss Russia’s more than three-year invasion of his country.

But they made no breakthrough and seen from Kharkiv – heavily attacked by Russia throughout the war – the red-carpet meeting looked like a clear win for Putin.

“I saw the results I expected. I think this is a great diplomatic victory for Putin,” Nebroev, a 38-year-old theatre manager, said.

“He has completely legitimised himself.”

Trump inviting Putin to the US ended the West’s shunning of the Russian leader since the 2022 invasion.

Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was not invited, described the trip as Putin’s “personal victory”.

Nebroev, like many Ukrainians, was gobsmacked the meeting could take place without representatives of his country.

‘Useless’

“This was a useless meeting,” he said, adding: “Issues concerning Ukraine should be resolved with Ukraine, with the participation of Ukrainians, the president.”

Trump later briefed European leaders and Zelenskyy, who announced he would meet the US leader in Washington on Monday.

The Trump-Putin meeting ended without a deal and Trump took no questions from reporters – highly unusual for the media-savvy US president.

Olya Donik, 36, said she was not surprised by the turn of events as she walked through a sunny park in Kharkiv with Nebroev.

“It ended with nothing. Alright, let’s continue living our lives here in Ukraine,” she said.

Hours after the talks, Kyiv said Russia attacked with 85 drones and a ballistic missile at night.

“Whether there are talks or not, Kharkiv is being shelled almost every day. Kharkiv definitely doesn’t feel any change,” said Iryna Derkach, a 50-year-old photographer.

She had stopped for the daily minute of silence held across the country to honour the victims of the Russian invasion.

“We believe in victory, we know it will come, but God only knows who exactly will bring it about,” she said.

‘Pouring water’

Derkach, like many Ukrainians, was suspicious of Trump.

“We do our job and don’t pay too much attention to what Trump is doing,” she added.

In Kyiv, 30-year-old cosplayer Kateryna Fuchenko, also worried that the American president was not a real ally of Ukraine.

“I don’t think he is for Ukraine,” she said, criticising Trump for acting as if he was “buddies” with Putin.

“They just poured water from empty to empty, back and forth, as always,” she said characterising the talks as meaningless, doubting they achieved “anything.”

Kyiv pensioner Volodymyr Yanukovych said he expected Russia to “fire as they fired” on Ukraine’s capital, which has seen a number of deadly attacks this summer.

Pharmacist Larysa Melnyk did not think her country was any closer to seeing peace.

“I don’t think there will be a truce,” she told AFP, adding that even if the guns fall silent, it will only be temporarily.

Russia has historically “unleashed such major conflicts”, the 25-year-old said, pointing to the 2008 war in Georgia. She asked: “Why does nobody react to this?”