KYIV, Ukraine — With the world’s attention shifting to the escalating conflict in the Middle East, Russia is pushing forward with a spring offensive in Ukraine despite months of peace talks that no longer appear to be Washington’s priority.
While Moscow seeks to regain momentum and capture more territory four years into its full-scale invasion, Ukrainians caught up in the conflict told NBC News their hopes that President Donald Trump will settle their war while waging another in Iran are dwindling.
The Iran war is “definitely a distraction,” Senior Sgt. Volodymyr Rzhavskyi said. Rzhavskyi, 44, has been serving since 2014, when Russian-backed separatists first began fighting in Ukraine’s east. He has little faith in the peace talks, but remains “a hopeless optimist” that Ukraine “can win in this war, not just hold on, but win.”
In a phone interview from the Donetsk region, where he is currently stationed, Rzhavskyi said that with Trump
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