President Trump's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday got off to a better start than their previous encounter, but concerns remain about the administration's approach to ending the conflict.
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Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and a Ukrainian refugee living in Omaha both expressed reservations about how the peace negotiations are being handled.
Russia is demanding 20% of Ukraine's territory, no NATO membership, and limited military capabilities for Ukraine—terms that critics say would effectively cripple the country.
"The reality is Putin does not want peace. Zelenskyy would love to have peace, but he's being invaded, and his cities are being bombed," Bacon said. "But the president seems unable to acknowledge that this is Russia's war, and Russia wants a vassal state. They want a country that has a weak military that's aligned with Moscow."
Vitaliy Onishchuk, who came to the United States from Ukraine as a refugee along with his siblings, he worries about those trapped in conflict zones.
"Ukrainians who did not evacuate did not have a chance or for some reason they don't have money or no relatives in other parts of countries or friends. They just victims of the situation. A lot of them getting killed," Onishchuk said.
Onishchuk believes Russia's territorial demands are just the beginning of a larger plan.
"He is just his first stage to fulfill his big picture ambition to puzzle back the Soviet Union," he said.
Bacon criticized what he sees as a stark contrast in how the administration has treated the leaders of Russia and Ukraine.
"It put some pressure on President Trump to not sell out Ukraine and I hate to even use those words, but when you see the last eight months, the velvet glove treatment that the president gives Putin, the red carpet treatment like he got in Alaska versus how President Zelenskyy's treated, is really bothersome," Bacon said.
If Zelenskyy is pressured to sign what Bacon considers an unfavorable agreement, the congressman plans to create a discharge petition to move the Sanctioning Russia Act forward, hoping to pressure the White House to support Ukrainian sovereignty.
While Onischuk appreciates that Trump is meeting with both parties, he hopes the president will put more pressure on Russia to end the war.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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