Three years ago, a full-scale invasion of Russia’s Ukraine destroyed many war-torn countries and killed thousands of Ukrainian civilians.
Both sides lost a huge number of soldiers.
But now, some people feel hopeful on the streets of Russia about the war and the potential for Western sanctions. At its peak under former President Joe Biden, some are optimistic that hostility towards the United States could end with President Donald Trump’s administration working to bring the fighting side to the negotiation table.
Fearing retaliation, all those interviewed in Russia for this article refused to provide their last name given to Moscow’s crackdown on objections.
Katherine, a psychiatrist from St. Petersburg who protested the war in 2022, said she was at every cost to support peace.
“My clients are happy to say, ‘Well, Americans are by our side again. After all, that’s a good thing because America is a great country,” she said.
“Everyone understands that it’s better to be friends with America than to fight. …In general, Russians know how to do that, but they don’t really hate it. In fact, in the three-year war, Russians didn’t hate Ukrainians in large quantities. They’ll rather sympathize with them. And if it’s possible to not hate Americans any more, that’s great, either.”
Elena, from St. Petersburg, said: “Well done, Trump. At least let him glue both of them together [Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine] At the negotiation table while he drank their dinner. ”
Washington’s sudden switch to Ukrainian policies has sent shockwaves around the world.
After a stormy encounter between Trump and Zelensky at the White House in February, Washington stopped sharing military aid and intelligence news with Kiev.
Ukraine’s European allies faced the prospect of being responsible for the burden of Kiev’s defense alone.
French President Emmanuel Macron proposed deploying peacekeeping forces in Ukraine and expanding French atomic weapons as part of a possible reconciliation.
However, Washington’s new position in Ukraine was welcomed in Moscow.
“new [US] Management is rapidly changing all foreign policy compositions. This is largely in line with our vision,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Russia recently.
Freezing military aid is a “solution that can actually push the Kiev regime into the peace process,” Peskov added.
On March 5th, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who once called President Putin a “thug” and “gang,” described the Ukrainian conflict as a proxy war between Washington and Moscow.
“This fully reflects the position that the President and Foreign Minister repeatedly spoke to.”
The Russian National Alliance media was also optimistic.
“Our idea of peace is clear and obvious. Everything happens as we think it’s right,” said Vladimir Solovyov, the host of talk shows lined up in the Kremlin.
“Note that Trump said nothing about the Russian attack, he didn’t blame him. [us]No one has a Biden-style insult about Putin. Incidentally, I didn’t hear, “We’re standing as long as we stand with you,” he said.
Tensions between Ukraine and Washington appear to have eased since the fiery White House exchange between Trump and Zelensky. Teams at the Ukrainian delegation conference in Saudi Arabia agreed to a 30-day ceasefire inferred by the US in the war. The United States has also resumed military aid and sharing information with Ukraine. Russia said it is studying the development in detail.
However, some remained skeptical.
“They should do something, what? Trump is saying one thing today, and actually saying the opposite tomorrow,” said Evgeniya, who works as a translator and originally from St. Petersburg. “Zelensky has anxiety, ambition…and Putin has a huge country with resources, a ridiculous vision of history and a crazy friend Medvedev,” she added.
Tatyana, a businessman from Moscow, is in despair.
“Trump is colluding with what Russia has done to his hometown, his people, his economy,” she said.
“Why did Putin conspire with Trump? [Putin] It’s clearly uncomfortable. Apart from [North] In South Korea and Iran, and some other distant countries, no one respects him. …He destroyed so many cities, so many lives – without doing anything, for no reason. A large amount of money is being invested in the military industry, but what will happen after the war ceases? There will be a lot of unemployed, penniless people, and in general, it is very scary. ”
Trump’s position on Russia is a world away from Biden, but the new US administration is not entirely sympathetic to the Kremlin.
On Friday, Trump threatened to slap Russia with additional sanctions if Putin did not take his seat at the negotiation table.
“Trump has not indulged in excessive optimism about peaceful reconciliation since being elected president of the United States to this day thanks to his efforts,” Alexei Marinin, founder of the Moscow-based international interaction centre and a member of Digoliya’s Professional Club, told Al Jazeera.
“The conflict is very serious, the parties’ positions are largely unreconcilable, and Ukraine is currently not demonstrating the preparation of a comfortable dialogue without floating castles and rosy glasses. Now we see that Europe also supports detachments from Ukrainian reality. And Trump himself can always abandon his mission of peace, despite the numerous empirical and insignificant Kurtseys in our direction.
“His negotiation approach is often structured into the fact that if the other side does not agree with him, he will turn his approach into strong pressure.
However, Marinin welcomed Trump’s apparent willingness to hear Moscow’s demands.
“Stable peace is possible under the following conditions: Ukraine officially abandons its desire to incorporate Russian territory, refuses to join NATO, ensuring incomplete demilitarization.
“And these contracts must be officially supported by a wide range of intermediaries, not just in the US and European countries, but also in countries that trust more in China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Qatar and more.”
However, the obvious US willingness to compromise with Russia may not be shared by Ukrainian European allies or the Ukrainians themselves.
“I think there are windows of opportunities that could be lost,” Oleg Ignatov, a senior analyst at the Russian International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera.
“The problem is that the US, Europe and Ukraine do not have a unified position. The division between them could lead to negotiations not being made or collapsed.”
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