Many Ukrainians seem unwilling to accept that all or part of the territories may be lost, even if Ukraine does not officially recognize a border change. “No one recognizes these territories as being under Russian control — just as no one recognized occupied Luhansk or Sevastopol from 2014 to 2022,

Donald Trump's threats against Vladimir Putin are no longer taken seriously in Ukraine, and Volodymyr Zelensky's absence from the August 15 meeting has come as a shock. Many in Kyiv are convinced that Russia will never give up on taking control of the entire country.

Despite longing for an end to Russia’s invasion, few believe that a meeting between President Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin is likely to deliver a peace plan they can accept.