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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Ukrainians in Tampa Bay want to know who is going to be at the table negotiating the terms for the end of the war in Ukraine.
“Everybody wants this to come to an end, the only thing, on which terms?” said Ilona Krasevtseva. She was born and raised in Ukraine, moved to Russia, and then moved to the United States in 2014.
Vice President JD Vance sat across from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Friday, saying he and President Trump are ready to end the war.
“We want the war to come to a close, we want the killing to stop, but we want to achieve a durable lasting peace, not the kind of peace that’s going to have Easter Europe in conflict in just a couple years down the road,” the vice president said.
President Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this week. The concern Krasevtseva has is that Putin wants to end the war on his terms, and that President Trump might accept them.
“Many Ukrainians feel betrayed because of that. Because, again, they were trying to defend democracy and fight for their rights to be an independent state,” Krasevtseva said.
She also said she’s thinking about the next steps for refugees.
“The current administration is fighting immigrants, so Ukrainians are worried because they were all offered shelter because of the war. This program, U4U status, offered by the United States, for Ukrainian refugees to escape the bombardments,” Krasevtseva said. “If the war stops, they don’t need to flee the country anymore, which is great. But if the war doesn’t stop, what happens?”
The U4U program was paused on Jan. 28 by way of an executive order signed by President Trump. It’s unclear what will happen to refugees post war.
President Zelensky said his country wants security guarantees before any talks to end the war.