Why Zelensky is only the roar, the people are the real lion

Ukraine’s rejection of US President Donald Trump’s peace deal which he argues will end Russia’s war against the country is not a Volodomyr Zelensky matter but a matter of his people.

Of the 28-point plan -an attempt by Trump to end the raging war, the number one point which speaks of Ukraine’s sovereignty, is perhaps the only music to the ears of the people of the historical nation that has survived tumultuous times - most of them caused by Russia.

It is a shared feeling and resolve amongst the people that Ukraine’s sovereignty is sacred and Russia has been trampling upon it which has to end, and Moscow made to pay for its crimes.

“As a citizen of Ukraine, I can say that, of course, as drafted, the 28-point plan did not impress me or any of my friends” Kateryna Anhelova who works and lives in Kyiv told The Standard. “These points are not at all about ending the war fairly. Ukraine has been affected, and Russia is the aggressor-these are the main conditions that need to be taken into account. We want an end to the war more than anyone else, but it must be fair, the aggressor must be punished”

There are two points on the proposal that are non-negotiable in the eyes of the people across the breadth of Ukraine -from the streets of three major cities - the Capital city of Kyiv, the second city Kharkiv and Lviv the third and cultural city of Ukraine –  the proposal to give up territories held by Russia; Crimea and the Donbass region –  will not happen.

“We want a deal that is clear that the affected country is guaranteed security, and there must be no recognition of our territories as Russian, no restoration of Russian influence in any aspect.” Said Kateryna “We have been defending our territorial integrity for so many years, and for us this is a matter of principle”.

The second non-negotiable issue is a proposal that Ukraine stops plans to join Northern Alliance Treaty Organisation (NATO) - the people will not allow their President, strong-willed Zelensky to interfere with the plans which also include plans to join the EU.

While in Ukraine The Standard learned that already several key areas of the capital Kyiv fly the NATO and EU flags. The city has set aside one of its historical sites which hold the country’s heritage going back centuries to host the two flags and is appropriately named EU square.

Eugene Kudriashov a Kyiv City tour guide told The Standard while on a tour of the city “This square is a historic place. In this area and nearby the archaeologists detected many ancient structures dating back to the 8-11th centuries”

At the center of the square is a circle of flowerbeds where flags that send a solid message to the world are seen whisking above in the still November air. We see the blue and yellow dotted flag of EU, the dark blue and compass emblem flag of NATO and the blue/yellow flag of Ukraine leaving no doubt in anyones’s mind what Ukrainians want in any peace proposal.

Trump’s plan says in number 7; Ukraine agrees to enshrine in its constitution that it will not join NATO, and NATO agrees to include in its statutes a provision that Ukraine will not be admitted in the future. At number  8 it says NATO agrees not to station troops in Ukraine. This, while in the capital city the heart of the people wants NATO and EU.

“Ukraine must retain its freedom to chose its alliances, including NATO and the European Union” Posted a Ukrainian citizen who calls himself Yvan Margine “and it must be able to rely on modernization and western support to strengthen its defense”

In another part of the same street lies Independence square, where a mall operates bearing souvenirs bearing the anti-Putin theme in Ukraine. The souvenirs are an image of Putin emblazoned on toilet paper which we learn started being produced and used in toilets soon after his occupation of Crimea in 2014. It is a spacious underground mall called Globus where people buy many souvenirs, including that particular toilet paper.

“Independence Square is the place of people’s freedom, will, and where our democracy is being born by Ukrainians” Said Kudriashov adding  “ We call it Maidan Nezalezhnosti which in English translates to Independence square and falls on the Main Street of Kyiv Khreshchatyk”.

The square has on numerous times changed its name. It was called the “Soviet square” during USSR time. The name then changed to “Square of the Great October Revolution” and finally, in 1991, when Ukraine had conquered its independence, the square has begun to be called “The Independence Square”, Kudriashov said.

The square is a common place for many demonstrations, including 2013-2014 Revolution of Dignity and earlier revolutions including the orange revolution of 2004”

In the city of Kharkiv, considered Ukraine’s educational and industrial city, which boasts several Universities the Russian leader is derisively described as  ‘ killer of children’, whose demands must not be listened to by Ukraine’s government. From the humble and elderly people to tradesmen, Kharkiv believes only in protecting its territories.

In the Shevchenkivskyi and Saltivskyi districts where a 12 story building was brought down by a Russian missile we meet a middle-aged woman walking her dog. She has lived here since Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and “will not leave”. She says she has been lucky not to be hit and has been moving to safer districts and awaits the day she will return to her estate that is being rebuild “ I will not leave Kharkiv,   I was born here and have lived here all my life. The killer of children will not make me live” She says in Ukrainian through a translator. The city is also home to a memorial of 106 children killed by the Russian army in the region alone since the war started. A strike on a 12-story apartment block occurred on September 15, 2024, killing one person and injuring at least 40.

In Lviv the third largest city of Ukraine the mayor Andriy Sadovyi told a team of visiting experts from the Global South that “Ukraine’s victory consists of two components - the de-occupation of our territories and the rebuilding of the country. To achieve this, we need strong ideas and smart people who can help us address the challenges ahead. We are open to cooperation,”

In all discussions, there is no mention of relinquishing of the territories held by Russia- the matter does not crop up in the imagination of any Ukrainian, be they common people or leaders.

Ukrainians left their ordinary professions and joined the defence of the country, we are told in Lviv, poets, journalists, activists, musicians, and farmers became soldiers, and many of their graves can now be seen at one of the largests war memorial cemeteries in the country established in Lviv.

Andriy Zholob, deputy Mayor for Veteran Affairs who took the team of visitors on a tour around the cemetery now referred to as Mars Field of Lviv said  “Here rests over 1,200 fallen Heroes. In the evening, their relatives — mothers, wives, children — come here to visit their loved ones… Yet this place is not only about sorrow, but also about the strength and resilience of Ukrainians and citizens of other countries who stood up to defend democracy,”

In the Mars Field The Standard confirmed that majority lying there after giving their lives to save their motherland from Russia’s aggression are aged between 22 and 35.

“I was deeply moved by the price Ukrainians have paid — thousands of young people have given their lives defending their land. Being in a place created in their honor touched me profoundly and made me realize that this is not just a story we hear in the news — thousands of young men and women are dying. It is time for the world to finally make an effort to stop the killings and end the occupation,” said Anny Modi, an activist from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Meanwhile BBC reported that Putin has reiterated his core demands for ending the war in Ukraine, saying Russia will lay down arms only if Kyiv's troops withdraw from territory claimed by Moscow in the Donbass region- South-Eastern Ukraine. For Zelensky, who has ruled out relinquishing those parts Kyiv’s stand still holds. He argues that rewarding Russia for its aggression is a non-starter. Speaking after Putin's address,  Zelensky said that Russia "scorned" efforts "to truly end the war".