At Trump Pizza Station in Kiev, with the internet password “Trumplovesyou”, a woman cried when she learned that the United States was suspending military aid to Ukraine. Another one uses cappuccino in banana milk, regretting that the whole world seems to have given up on her country.
On Tuesday morning, most people agreed at nearby pizza and coffee shops that it was time to change the name of Trump’s pizza station on the grounds that they suffered in the Three Years’ War.
Anastasiia Berehovenko, 24, is studying becoming an obstetrician and gynecologist. He stands in a bottle of water and counts out who she knows, who are killed by Russians with their fingers: her brother, childhood friend, neighbor, her neighbor.
Then she stopped.
“I honestly don’t even think I have enough fingers to count the people I know dead,” she said. “I think it’s all very sad for us. It just means one thing-and even more Ukrainians might die.”
In recent weeks, Ukraine’s gut has emerged every day, and Ukrainian cities have been under attack by Russian troops since the full invasion in February 2022.
Under Joseph R. Biden Jr., the United States is Ukraine’s biggest ally. But since President Trump came to power in January, the United States has made a general attitude toward its foreign policy, with good relations with Russia taking precedence over Ukraine.
Mr. Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator, wrongly accusing his country of war. U.S. officials held peace talks with senior Russian officials in Saudi Arabia without invitation to Ukraine. Then on Friday, the meeting between Mr. Zelensky, Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance became very hostile. Leaders failed to sign a deal on key minerals as expected.
Since then, Ukraine seems to have been holding its breath. Many have been hoping to revive the mineral agreement so that the United States will continue to support Ukraine in exchange for a portion of its profits.
But on Tuesday morning, at least so far, those hopes were destroyed, when the news spreads to the fact that the United States is temporarily suspending military aid.
Aliona Khrul, 24, didn’t see the news before going to Trump’s pizza station to buy coffee and tuna sandwiches. When she heard about the decision of the United States, she began to cry.
Ms. Hruel said: “I feel we were abandoned, just abandoned by everyone.” She liked the others here, and she said she lost people in the war, including classmates and a close friend. Last week, she attended a funeral of a boyfriend’s good friend, who was killed in front.
She added: “In the end, what is the point of all the fights, all the dead people? I don’t know what to do.”
From the country, from occupied areas in the East to cities in western Ukraine, people are shocked and frustrated by what the decision of the United States might mean. Some say Ukraine must make the most of its poor peace. Others said Ukraine would continue to fight, hoping to get support from Europe.
Artem Kholodevych, 33, of the army lieutenant colonel, lost his right leg on the front line, said he believed Ukraine had enough weapons stockpiles until European allies could increase aid delivery.
“If U.S. aid does not recover throughout Trump’s entire presidency, it will be an unpleasant and challenging time for us,” he said. “But in this case, European security will face greater threats, which is why I believe our allies in Europe will respond accordingly and greatly increase support for Ukraine.”
In Crimea, where Russia captured from Ukraine in 2014, a woman spoke over the phone anonymously because she feared Russia’s revenge, saying Mr. Trump was trying to get Ukraine to temporarily suspend aid to accept a bad deal.
“There is almost no room for operation now,” she said.
She said that members of Mr. Trump’s team were not politicians, but political entrepreneurs. “They think Ukraine is a weak competitor in this market and must accept the conditions set by the market leaders and submit them.”
“U.S. politics is unfortunately lacking in humanitarianism. They don’t care about Ukraine’s casualties, tragedies or war crimes committed by Russia against Ukraine,” she added.
Many Ukrainians hope Mr. Trump can bring peace.
They said in the months after the U.S. election in November, they said Mr. Trump’s unpredictable style might actually help Ukraine. Some Ukrainians have positive conversations about Mr. Trump’s business acumen and hope that Russian President Vladimir Putin – not Mr. Zelensky – may rub Trump in the wrong way.
After Trump’s 2016 election, a Ukrainian businessman even created two coffee shops named after Trump, including the current pizza shop.
The Trump Pizza Station used to be the Trump White Coffee Bar, but decided to add the pizza to the menu in January. Pizza has an English name, and the restaurant’s soundtrack features many ZZ tops, including the song “Breakaway”, a song about a potential breakup.
A pizza, Trump wild, with red sauce, prosciutto, artichoke hearts, mushrooms and grana padano cheese. On some signs, Trump’s letter “U” looks like a half-filled coffee cup.
Volodymyr Pynzenyk, a 31-year-old risk management consultant, had a meal at a cafe Tuesday afternoon and noted that Ukraine had begun producing its own weapons.
“It hasn’t changed much for us. We have always had to be in our own independent position,” he said. “Maybe the situation isn’t as critical as it seems,” he added.
Many people complain about the name of the cafe here. This is one thing they can change, and it is tangible when everything else feels out of control.
“I don’t think this place will survive here,” said Dasha Holomoz, a 21-year-old college student.
Over the past month, people have started asking the cafe staff for the name, sometimes positive, and 37-year-old manager Serhii said he doesn’t want to use his last name to avoid being targeted by Russian online critics.
Serhii, wearing a T-shirt with the color of the Ukrainian flag and the word “unbreakable” in the front, said he opposed the name change – after all, they have been building the Trump coffee brand for the past five years. But the owner was in trouble.
He said soon, the Trump Pizza Bar will be called the Frank Pizza Station – the honest and straightforward “Frank”. By Tuesday night, the cafe had changed its social media profiles to feature a new name.
Oleksandra mykolyshyn,,,,, Liubov Sholudko and Evelina Riaiako Kiev’s contribution Yurii Shyvala Lviv from Ukraine.
