According to some in Kyiv, the series of strikes by Donald Trump against Volodymyr Zelensky may have been intended to make the Ukrainian president and his country more susceptible. If so, they did not succeed in swaying a rebellious population hardened by war. However, turning the U.S. president to Russia is still alarming for Ukrainians who are preparing for everything that is about to happen without the world superpower behind their backs.

In a series of escalating charges and requests, Trump called Zelensky a dictator, instructed him to convene early elections despite martial law, and agree with Russia, “otherwise he will not remain a state.”

These statements did not receive a warm welcome in the capital of Ukraine, where the signs of war are inevitable, while citizens are preparing to celebrate the third anniversary of the invasion by Russian President Vladimir Putin this Monday.

In some respects, life in Kyiv is normal—there are traffic jams on the streets, restaurants are open and bustling, and films are projected in theaters. However, the underlying tension is palpable, with air raid sirens and the constant threat of Russian attacks.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, a former professional boxer whose relationship with Zelensky has become increasingly strained, described the U.S. statements as “strangely emotional” and called for unity. “Not elections, not any internal struggles or political ambitions are important today,” said the mayor in his Telegram channel. “This is a sober mind, everyone should work together for a common goal—the protection of their country.”

Ukrainians can swear at Zelensky or praise him because he is their president, but “neither in Moscow nor in Washington” does someone else have the right to do so, said Boris Filatov, mayor of the third-largest Ukrainian city of Dnipro and another critic of the central power.

The capital of Ukraine is covered by cold, and Russia has intensified attacks with unmanned aircraft. People use Telegram channels to follow rockets and drones, and the special air signal application has been improved to give a separate signal if a Russian air attack approaches the location. The sirens have willed from late evening to the early hours of the next day, interrupting the dreams of residents.

Kyiv residents, who checked their air alarm applications while heading to the buses or the subway, which also served as a bomb shelter in most cases, did not relate to Trump’s calls for immediate elections. The confidence of people in Zelensky, which had gradually dropped over the last three years, increased to 57% in February when Trump began talking about Ukraine. This is the first improvement in the peak of its popularity in May 2022 after the start of Russia’s large-scale invasion, according to a study by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.

Although the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology is an authoritative local sociological agency, public opinion surveys measuring confidence in politicians are small in Ukraine and their reliability in most cases cannot be inspected independently. However, even if Zelensky’s approval is far from 90% of the first months of the war, it is out of the charts compared to Trump’s claim that the support for the Ukrainian leader is only 4%.

One of Trump’s offensive remarks is that the voices that criticize Zelensky are muted by those who support him. Opposition MP and outspoken critic Olexi Goncharenko stated that he urged the president to announce that he would not run for a second term. Military blogger Yuri Butusov said on Facebook that Zelensky should make it clear to the nation that the war would continue, while calling for stopping what he called populist budget payments to voters aimed at helping the future Zelensky campaign for re-election.

Elections are not only difficult to organize and conduct in the conditions of war, but also contradict the martial law declared after Russia invaded. Ukrainian intelligence services are convinced that Russia’s main purpose is to lure all Ukrainian politicians to quarrel with each other if it comes to voting, and after changing the government to resume the war with triple greater power, according to the thinking man in the presidency.

Theoretical elections can be held, but only if the United States and other allies send their troops after the fire is stopped and patrol it on the front line—something Trump has turned off, the man said.

The additional risk is that even the prospect of Zelensky can be insufficient for Trump. The most viable candidate for his deputy is the former commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny, who is now holding the position of Ambassador of Ukraine to the UK and who has so far avoided specifying his political plans. However, it is believed that the man known as the “Iron General” is likely to not agree with the Russian demands for retreating Ukrainian territory, reducing the army, and promising to never join NATO.

“Ukraine wants peace but not with the cost of humiliation,” a person close to the presidency said, who asked not to be named, discussing the strategy. “If we did not bend in front of all these ultimatums at the most difficult moment” in 2022, when Kyiv was threatened, “Why is there the feeling that we will bend now?” Zelensky said this week.

Putin’s aggression against Ukraine began in 2014 when his forces took over Crimea and ignited a puppet rebellion in the eastern part of the country. On February 24, 2022, Russian troops began a full-scale invasion of their western neighbor, quickly seizing large parts of its territory. Since then, explosions and sirens have become a daily routine for Ukrainians. Some civilians have joined so-called mobile groups to overthrow Russian weapons; lawyers, IT engineers, and teachers combine their daily work with night hunting drones.

Although Ukraine managed to release a significant portion of the areas seized by Russia, it is a reflection in her soul whether Zelensky could prepare better for the invasion. But Trump’s unparalleled statement that Ukraine was guilty of first, angry many.

In the midst of this turmoil, the U.S. public is divided on how to respond to Trump’s statements. Some argue that the U.S. should maintain a strong stance against Russian aggression, while others believe that Trump’s approach could lead to a more stable peace. The situation in Ukraine serves as a stark reminder of the complexities of international relations and the importance of diplomacy in resolving conflicts.

As the world watches, the resilience of the Ukrainian people and their leaders continues to be tested. The future of Ukraine hangs in the balance, and the actions of global leaders, including Trump, will have lasting implications for the region and beyond.