Washington residents, Ukrainian refugees react to Trump-Zelenskyy meeting
Feb 28, 2025, 11:23 PM
As President Trump and President Zelenskyy went toe to toe in the Oval Office, many Ukrainian refugees in Washington remain in limbo.
鈥淚 want all the lives we lost not to be wasted,鈥� says refugee Lina Ngo. She and her family fled Kyiv three years ago.
Ngo is one of more than 16,000 Ukrainian refugees now calling Washington home.
President Trump has long called for a ceasefire. Ngo says she and many Ukrainians want a ceasefire, but don鈥檛 believe Russia would agree in good faith.
鈥淗istory shows us that none of the agreements with Russia made is worth even the paper it is written on,鈥� says Ngo.
She watched the verbal back-and-forth Friday, between Presidents Trump and Zelenskyy.
鈥淭oday was a win for Putin,鈥� assesses Ngo.
State Representative Jim Walsh, a Republican, says he backs the President after watching the talks in the Oval Office unfold.
鈥淲e want to see a better outcome there, we want to see peace restored, but we don鈥檛 want to commit American resources or American people to a cause which is not ours directly and which could go on for many years,鈥� says Rep. Walsh.
Online, a more critical rebuke from Washington鈥檚 Democratic senators.
Senator Patty Murray called the President a 鈥榰seful idiot for Putin鈥� on X.
Senator Pramila Jayapal called it 鈥榟orrifying and stunning to see this administration is standing with dictators over our own allies,鈥� on X.
Here in Washington state, people like Carl Larson are working to garner local support for Ukraine, as it wavers at the U.S. Capitol.
Larson is an Iraq veteran who served in Ukraine at the start of the war, by training and fighting with other international troops. Larson also founded the聽, a Washington non-profit that supports Ukrainians.
鈥淥f course, the best solution would be to defeat Russia on the battlefield and push them out of Ukrainian territory,鈥� says Larson.
When asked if Ukraine could do that without America鈥檚 help, he says this: 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the big elephant in the room. Can they do that with America鈥檚 help? Because they haven鈥檛 been able to do that over the last two and a half, three years,鈥� says Larson.
Larson says that while he doesn鈥檛 agree with Friday鈥檚 confrontation, he does support some of Trump鈥檚 recent accusations about a lack of international support.
鈥淚 agree with President Trump that the Europeans have to do vastly more. They do have more skin in the game, and they have not been fulfilling their obligations,鈥� says Larson.
