(WBRE/WYOU) — People in our community are weighing in on the explosive meeting between the president and vice president and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Ukraine's leader had come to the White House to sign a minerals deal with the US, but instead, he was shown the door after a heated blow-up.
Two people 28/22 News spoke with on Sunday believe an end to the three-year war is still possible.
One of them is a Luzerne County man who has carried out volunteer missions in Ukraine.
In a matter of months after the February 2022 war began, Daniel Griffin of Swoyersville put on a vest and traveled to Ukraine. He was there to help with humanitarian aid.
The US stepped in and supplied billions in weapons and ammunition ever since.
That support is now in doubt.
Despite what happened Friday in the Oval Office, Griffin remains hopeful.
"We will continue to mend the ties with Ukraine and show our support like we have since 2022," Griffin explained.
Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy, claiming he was trying to litigate diplomacy to the media.
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"I don't think President Zelenskyy was trying to be disrespectful. I think he is thankful for the United States. People want to come off looking a certain way, and things get lost in translation," Griffin continued.
Griffin believes a language barrier led to miscommunication, and the deals involving past presidents differed from the one being negotiated by Trump.
"President Trump could've been a bit more sensitive or empathetic because this man has gone through horror and personal pain," Stella Presbyterian Church Pastor William Lukesh stated.
Pastor Lukesh believes Trump has had his hands full early in his second term and came off harsh to Zelenskyy.
Although the US did not include Ukraine at the table in preliminary peace talks with Russia and did not back a US resolution urging an end to the war, Pastor Lukesh still has faith.
"I think that Ukraine can still see us as their best friend and the pattern that can bring about the proper resolution," Pastor Lukesh added.
"These are two boxers in the ring fighting for the prize and we are the referee coming in and trying to make sense of it and make fould but you can't do that and still be a peacemaker," Griffin stated.
The Russia Ukraine War is now more than 1,100 days old.
Both men 28/22 News spoke with on Sunday hope a peaceful end to that war happens sooner rather than later.
