Every day, hundreds of people pause before photos of soldiers killed in combat at Independence Square in Kyiv, where an informal memorial stands, October 17, 2025. VIRGINIE NGUYEN HOANG/HL/HUMA FOR LE MONDE
United in their determination to fight for their country's survival, Ukrainian soldiers have varied reactions whenever the prospect of a ceasefire that paves the way for diplomacy is revived by sporadic US initiatives.
They know that the option favored by US President Donald Trump since taking office in January – going up to his fruitless meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15 in Alaska – has been abandoned for now, with Moscow refusing the principle of a truce on the battlefield. Yet they are also aware that Kyiv, eager to maintain what remains of its alliance with Washington, has accepted the idea in principle, and that the possibility could be raised again.
"The first to want the war to end are the soldiers," said Colonel Hryhoriy Shapoval, who serves on the general staff of the Operational Command East that is based in Dnipro and covers the country's most active fronts. "For us soldiers, it is always a bit strange to see people abroad, calmly drinking their beer, claiming that we absolutely should or should not give up territory." The officer criticizes what he calls both "unrealistic principles" and a "romanticized view" of war. He said, "War is dirty," and that "War is being up to your neck in shit."
