Ukrainian studying at Iowa State reacts to recent Trump administration actions
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AMES, Iowa (KCCI) — A Ukrainian student studying at Iowa State University said he was “disappointed” after President Donald Trump announced he is pausing military aid to Ukraine.
Yaroslav Ziabkin, 28, moved to Washington, Iowa, in 2022 from Ukraine with his fiancée. He is in his second semester at Iowa State studying computer science.
“I’m very grateful to Americans, to America and all the people I met,” Ziabkin said. “This was like an opportunity to start life from scratch from the beginning.”
He left behind his family and his home, which was destroyed in the first couple of months of the war. He said it’s been hard to watch the conflict unfold overseas.
“They don’t realize the scale of the war,” he said. “This is an unprecedented war.”
Trump on Monday directed a “pause” to U.S. assistance to Ukraine as he seeks to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to engage in negotiations to end the war with Russia.
The move comes just days after a disastrous Oval Office meeting in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance tore into Zelenskyy for what they perceived as insufficient gratitude for the more than $180 billion U.S. has appropriated for military aid and other assistance to Kyiv since the start of Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
“I was super kind of disappointed,” Ziabkin said. “If America stops military aid, Putin will take over Ukraine.”
Trump also told reporters Thursday he would soon decide whether to revoke temporary legal status for 240,000 Ukrainians who fled their home. Ziabkin said that move will impact him.
“I’m scared,” he said. “I am kind of disoriented when you don’t understand what’s going on and why.”
He said he’s unsure what’s next, but he promised to continue working hard toward his dreams.
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