SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — President Trump's meetings with Ukrainian and Russian leaders have sparked mixed reactions from Ukrainian Americans, with many concerned about the path to peace.
Nataliya Chung, co-vice president at the House of Ukraine in Balboa Park, feels powerless at her home in Escondido as her cousins fight on the frontlines to protect Ukraine from Russian control.
"Very often I just think of the streets I grew up on. And just think there are rockets and bombs flying all around. Bombs that can explode at any moment, with any child, it just breaks my heart," Chung said.
Chung has helped raise more than $2 million in humanitarian aid for Ukraine through her work with the House of Ukraine.
While Chung and her family were encouraged by President Trump's meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky on Monday, she says the U.S. summit with Vladimir Putin last week brought an overwhelming feeling of betrayal.
"Putin started the war, he needs to stop it. That's where the pressure needs to go, that's where sanctions need to go," Chung said.
Since these meetings, President Trump has backed off on his calls for a ceasefire, now saying the goal is a long-term peace agreement.
Erik Gartzke, a UCSD political science professor, says this stance benefits Putin.
"If you have peace negotiations in the midst of fighting, the side doing better on the battlefield will drag out those peace negotiations for a very long time," Gartzke said.
Zelensky continues to push for peacekeeping forces on the ground and additional military aid. Gartzke believes this support will come from European allies moving forward.
"What the current administration has decided is - they're willing to compromise. They're willing to let the Russians win if it ends the war quicker," Gartzke said.
Chung remains hopeful for U.S. support, knowing her family's lives depend on it.
"They need help. And if only Mr. Trump would understand this, and put pressure on Putin, not President Zelensky," Chung said.
