Ceasefire talks are ramping up between Ukraine and Russia via america, but those that have fled the war in Ukraine over the past three years say they’ll imagine it once they see it — and even then, there’s skepticism.
“I don’t imagine it,” said Nataliia Vynohradova, who has been living in Canada for greater than two years after fleeing the war in Ukraine.
“I just know Russian people… it’s not only Putin,” Vynohradova said. “A few of them don’t want this war, but most individuals in Russia hate Ukrainians.”
She works at DON’YA Ukraine’s Kitchen in north Edmonton (12153 Fort Rd), which is staffed almost entirely by Ukrainian refugees.
The kitchen is full of women who’ve fled the horror and violence of war.
The staff are watching the newest talks between america and their homeland fastidiously. They are saying they’re hopeful — even in the event that they feel they shouldn’t be.
“It’s probably because I need this,” Vynohradova said. “Like in my heart, (I) imagine this could be possible but my brain says ‘Probably not.’
“I don’t imagine that this war someday can stop.”
Kyiv accepted a U.S. proposal that could lead on to a 30-day pause between the 2 Eastern European countries. Russia has yet to simply accept.
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The agreement comes just per week after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President Donald Trump and other American administration officials on the White House in Washington, D.C. in an explosive meeting that went sideways.
The U.S. administration says it can now present the Kremlin with the ceasefire offer. Trump said he hasn’t ruled out pressuring Russia to get on board.
“Hopefully we are able to get a ceasefire from Russia,” Trump said on Wednesday. “If we do, I believe that may be 80 per cent of the technique to getting this horrible bloodbath finished.”
The Alberta Council of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress says after three years of war, they hope that is it. They’re looking towards a brighter future.
“People can be attempting to someway normalize a brand new normal for them. Moving away from the shelling, having some peace of mind,” said president Orysia Boychuk.
The congress believes if the Russians select not to simply accept a ceasefire, it sends an even bigger message.
“In the event that they select to not support peace, this can proceed to support and solidify the aggressiveness and the irrational behaviour of Russia,” Boychuk said.
The prospect for a ceasefire should leave the ladies of DON’YA Ukraine’s Kitchen hopeful — but they’ve seen too many horrors and heard too many lies to seek out comfort within the news.
“I really need this peace, I need to come back back to Ukraine,” Vynohradova said, explaining she left her parents and siblings behind.
“Even when my kids wish to stay here in Canada, I need to have opportunity to go to my family, to go to them.”
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