SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – The peace deal to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war is a hot topic.
"Ukraine is ready for peace,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
But here in San Diego those recent negotiations for that possible deal are being felt with some skepticism and some cautious optimism.
"I'm very honestly, I'm very skeptical about this whole situation,” Mira Rubin, the President of Shield of Freedom, said
"I'm really hoping for a just peace,” Josh Levine, the Director of Operations of Shield of Freedom, said.
Shield of Freedom is a San Diego non-profit that's dedicated to providing frontline aid to Ukrainians during the war.
ABC 10News spoke with both Rubin and Levine about what's being called the final stages of long-wait peace negotiations, hopefully with a deal.
"We could be very close. There are one or two very thorny issues,” President Donald Trump said on Sunday.
That feeling of closure isn’t being felt by some here locally.
"I wish that was the truth. It's not. I mean we need to be realistic about this war I need to see what's going on the ground literally right before the talks,” Rubin said.
What Rubin referred to is a reported drone and missile attack that happened in Kyiv over the weekend, just before talks with Zelenskyy and Trump began in Florida.
"At the end of the day, the talking is important. But really what matters, especially with Russia, is actions,” Levine said.
While there's some skeptics and those who may have some cautious optimism, there's hope for what can happen if a deal can be reached at the end of the talks.
"A just peace would in its, you know, totality be that Ukraine has returned to its internationally recognized borderland that Russia goes back to its own country,” Levine said.
"And Ukrainian people do not want to be giving up our territories for a temporary ceasefire. We need assurance, security guarantees, real security guarantees, not a document hat is not going to be followed by any of the sides,” Rubin said.
