‘There is no such thing as a just peace’: Meduza’s Russian-language readers react to Trump’s Ukraine–Russia peace plan
Last week, we asked our Russian-language readers what they think of the new peace plan proposed by the Trump administration to end Russia’s war against Ukraine. Hundreds of letters have come in since, ranging from relief at the prospect of ending the war to outrage over the plan’s terms. Below are some of the responses, translated into English.
The opinions expressed in these letters are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect Meduza’s editorial position.
Myroslava
Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine
It’s hard to say what “better conditions” [for Ukraine in the future] we could be holding out for. I live in Zhovti Vody, on the right bank of the Dnipro, and my older sister lives on the left bank in Pavlohrad, where her husband is from. When Russia launched its full-scale war in 2022 and there were the first negotiations, things were relatively quiet where she was. Back then, Boris Johnson was around, and now they’re writing that he forbade [Ukraine] from surrendering. And now, year after year, it only gets worse. We have strikes every week now — Shahed [drones]. Compared to 2022, life has become terrifying. There were more talks in the summer [spring] of 2025 that everyone was discussing. And after those, things only got worse again. […]
So agreeing to these terms isn’t just something we should do — it’s something we should have done long ago, back in 2022. Winter is coming, and as the president said, it’s going to be the hardest winter yet. I’m afraid he has no idea just how hard it will be for ordinary people compared to the conditions he and his circle live in. They can probably continue on like this for years, living comfortably while we die in our apartments and our men are at the front. The president needs to swallow his pride and start doing something — anything — to make peace happen.
Roman
Contrary to what some people say, Ukraine’s situation is not so dire that it should accept this “plan,” which is essentially a thinly disguised capitulation by Ukraine and an equally poorly disguised list of maximalist demands from Russia.
On the contrary, if you compare Trump’s current proposals with Russia’s demands during the Istanbul talks in April 2022, or with Trump’s proposals right after Anchorage, it’s easy to see that the terms are now significantly better for Ukraine and that Russia’s ambitions have shrunk somewhat. Meanwhile, Russia’s economy is already bursting at the seams, and the public is showing growing fatigue with the war. What’s needed is more pressure on Russia and more support for Ukraine — that’s what will lead to a far better outcome for Ukraine, instead of trying to twist Ukraine’s arm for the sake of a phantom Nobel Prize.
Mykola
Ukraine
The longer we keep fighting, the worse our position becomes. I can see that clearly from the inside (I’ve been fighting for three years; I command a small unit). We’ve been robbed blind throughout all 30 years of independence, and they’re still robbing us now — this whole “Mindich-gate” thing doesn’t surprise me at all.
It’s very telling how terrified our own people are that the Americans might check where the aid money actually went. And on top of fighting, we have to go cut logs for dugouts, beg people for money to repair our vehicles, and so on. Everyone who survived and hasn’t been discharged is completely exhausted; even the most motivated have lost faith in any good outcome. So a ceasefire would at least give us a breather. And after that — we’ll see.
David
Berlin
The point that especially got me was the one about giving up the parts of Donetsk region that Russia hasn’t captured. Everything else in the plan is at least somewhat tolerable, but that point spells a new disaster. Imagine the sides sign the deal, and Ukraine withdraws from Donetsk region. Two weeks later, Putin says, “I’ve changed my mind,” and Russia’s forces move forward across open ground without much difficulty, meeting no fortifications all the way to the Dnipro, and quickly approach Kharkiv from the south and Zaporizhzhia from the east. And what would Trump do then? Step in for Ukraine? Send Marines to Kyiv? The plan doesn’t say anything like that. Something tells me the Americans would just shrug, scold Putin a bit, and that’s it. And that would be the end of Ukraine as an independent country.
Petro
Kyiv, Ukraine
It’s worth agreeing. If the fighting continues, Russia could reach Kyiv by summer. The terms of this peace plan are worse than the ones in Istanbul. The next plan will be worse still. Keep going like this and we could end up with unconditional surrender.
Alex
Israel
The moment you read the plan, one question comes up immediately: why did Ukraine fight for almost four years if it’s now going to accept this? They could have just met all of Putin’s demands in 2022, or even earlier. There would have been no casualties, no destruction — and the outcome would be the same for both sides. What compromises is Russia making? Is it going to write something in the documents about not attacking anyone? After those farcical constitutional amendments and its Constitutional Court giving permission to ignore international rulings? It’s laughable to even mention such things in a peace deal. A ceasefire on Trump’s terms will only be a pause before a much harsher war. Putin’s appetite will grow, and Ukrainians will be hungry for revenge.
Oleg
Russia
Despite the criticism from all sides, the plan doesn’t seem that bad to me. It’s definitely not a Ukrainian capitulation. Both sides will have to make concessions. Yes, Ukraine’s concessions are heavier — and given the situation at the front, that’s to be expected. But is there any reason to expect better terms if the fighting continues? If you look at the hardest points for Ukraine without hysteria, things don’t seem so terrible. For example, the cap of 600,000 personnel for the Ukrainian Armed Forces — that’s two and a half times more than before the war. Is more even necessary in peacetime? Giving up Donbas is painful. But what’s left there? Ruins unfit for living. Could the Ukrainian military hold them if the war continues? And what awaits the still-intact cities in the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions as Russia advances?
As for the idea of “capitulation”: does the capitulating side usually receive reparations from the victor? And most importantly — Ukraine has preserved its independence.
Serhii
Dnipro, Ukraine
Anyone opposed to any peace plan is free to enlist — either in the army or in the International Legion. Ukraine will never get back the territories that Russia controls. And if people can’t accept a reality in which “justice” doesn’t exist (or everyone has their own version of it), they can either sacrifice their health for their convictions or stop obstructing any attempt to end our suffering and the deaths of our people. It’s especially bloodthirsty and cynical to read [opinions against the plan] from people writing from Austria, Italy, the U.S. Our own Ukrainian corruption — systematically destroying the state — has brought the country to the brink. Either the country cleans itself up, or it will cease to exist, the way things disappear in nature.
Viktor
Russia
My father is a veteran (not of the war in Ukraine), and many of my friends come from military families — both Russian and Ukrainian. Not one of them wants this war to go on.
When you know what war is from firsthand accounts, or from your own experience, you stop caring about pride, ambition, patriotism, and all the other nonsense invented to send people to their deaths. Any plan, any peace, is by definition better than the mass killing of people by other people. And it’s honestly, with tears in my eyes, almost funny to read messages from people who oppose peace, talking about dignity, justice, and “fighting to the end.” The funny thing is that all of those messages come from people who aren’t fighting: those who emigrated, women, people staying far away from the horror.
And of course. For these people, war is something that doesn’t put their lives at risk every second. Even if they live in Ukraine, it’s nothing like what soldiers are experiencing right now — shooting at each other, under bombardment, freezing in trenches. Just read the soldiers’ letters, understand that war isn’t for ordinary people, and that any way of ending it, even the most degrading, is better than the death of thousands of dreams and feelings. Justice is something you can sacrifice for the sake of saving lives.
Anonymous
Volga region, Russia
The plan is incompetent and, as [political scientist] Ekaterina Schulmann noted, “drafted by different actors.” I’d go even further and say it was drafted by people who can’t agree not only with each other, but even on the basic causes of the war. It spells out in black and white the idea that Trump’s America should get something out of this for itself — and that’s repulsive.
It’s appalling that the U.S. is abandoning its role as an international policeman and is unable to stand up to an outdated, primitive dictatorship because of the sympathies of its unhinged president. I’m convinced Ukraine could have won this war if NATO and the E.U. had consistently supported the government in Kyiv from the first weeks of the conflict and taken care in advance of all the reforms needed to counter Russia’s ambitions. But the West is heading into the fourth year of the war weak — unable to rearm quickly or reform its militaries — despite having an economy and population several times larger than Russia’s. The result is a bizarre picture: a poor but furious Russia is prepared to fight even under sanctions, while the West, after four years, is still sucking its paw, projecting unity and toughness in words, but in reality seizing the first opportunity to settle things with a peace deal, avoiding astronomical expenses while preserving the illusion of stability and external security.
All of this is frustrating. If in 1941 the U.S., the U.K., and the USSR had fought Hitler this way, the Anti-Hitler coalition would never have won. Back then, for some reason, those countries had the political will and the resources to build a war economy and respond quickly to threats. Now they don’t. Somehow North Korea can send its soldiers to die for Russia’s interests, while the E.U. can’t shield its eastern flank from an obvious threat.
The peace agreement is terrible, Trump is repulsive, I feel sorry for Ukraine, yet I have little sympathy for the politicians involved. And worst of all — there’s no alternative, because given how things have gone at the front in recent months, there’s an unpleasant feeling that Russia will simply reach its declared borders in two or three years. Because Putin is willing to take risks and make sacrifices, and the E.U. and the U.S. are not.
Serhii
Kharkiv, Ukraine
Too bad America didn’t have Trump in 1941. He would have made a deal with Hitler — after all, people were dying. If this plan is signed, the war will just be passed on to my children. That’s all.
Mike
Odesa, Ukraine
There is no such thing as a just peace. There is only a shameful one.
I’m very tired, I’m emotionally drained. Let it be some kind of peace, at least. Even if it’s just for a couple of years, let it be peace.
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