As the US and Russia met for peace talks over Ukraine in Saudi Arabia there was someone conspicuous by their absence.
But people in Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv have still had their say.
They were speaking as the US special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, arrived in the city for talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
President Donald Trump, has echoed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unfounded narrative that Ukraine provoked their invasion nearly three years ago.
The resulting mood in Ukraine is sombre, with many feeling abandoned by their once strongest ally – the US.
Yaroslav Savochkyn, former soldier
President Zelenskyy has suggested that he would like to take Kellogg to see the front line during his visit.
Someone who knows that battlefield well is former soldier Yaroslav Savochkyn.
He asked: “What would [Zelenskyy] hear [in Saudi Arabia]? That we have to forget about our territories?
“I’m sorry, but right here on the street, I’m passing by, there is a flag that represents my [fallen] brother in arms.
“He was left on the territory occupied by an aggressor right now. What should I say?
“This is our territory and our land, we have to take it back.”
Yulia Kulyk, retiree
Yulia Kulyk, a retiree, is not impressed by the US-Russian peace talks in Saudi Arabia, and Ukraine’s lack of involvement.
She scolded the leaders involved: “If it was up to me, I would wipe out Trump and Putin from the face of the earth.
“Ukraine is our country and it’s our land, so why is it them who decide what we have to do and how we have to live? Why is it them doing all that talking? This is my opinion,” she added.
She continued to say Ukrainians felt isolated: “I’m really sorry to hear that they want to negotiate without Ukraine, without our people participating, without our president, without our parliament and all of us. How is that possible that they just talked, made up their mind, decided something between themselves?”
Alan, humanitarian worker
Alan, a humanitarian worker, compared Ukraine’s battle for freedom with the US’s unshakeable faith in their constitution.
He said: “All Ukrainian people, all of the Ukrainian army, defends the core value of the United States, which is freedom. That’s what we do.
“So, in fact, it’s a bit questionable that the US now doesn’t want to support Ukraine,” he added.
“I hope American people can see how many people just want to live, that there are peaceful people that just want to have normal lives. They want to grow up with their kids, with their family.
“It’s unbelievable for me for now. I hope really that American people can come back to their first value, because in the American constitution, freedom is a core value.”
Serhii Stukanov, journalist
A journalist in Kyiv, Serhii Stukanov, called on the Ukrainian government to put pressure on Kellogg to change the US’s foreign policy.
He said: “Currently the situation looks like the United States is trying to play a role like an arbiter that is above the fight.
“It’s like equalising the aggressor and the victim. It’s not true and I think it’s not fair.
“So probably we should speak with Keith Kellogg, who is in Kyiv right now and try to change and to shift the United States policy in this situation,” he concluded.
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