By Andre Perron and Dan Pilschuk
LVIV, Ukraine (Reuters) – When Russia sent troops into Ukraine nearly three years ago, Yaroslav Simkiv expected a global backlash that would force him to immediately end his full-scale invasion.
Since then, the gray trumpet has provided a mournful sound to hundreds of military funeral processions as they wind their way through Lviv’s cobblestone streets.
“They can agree to a ceasefire and all that, but then everything will be left to our children and grandchildren,” Simkiev said, echoing a widespread belief in Ukraine that Russia would pressure the country for years to come. will remain
His grim work in the western Ukrainian city symbolizes the war’s devastating toll as fighting approaches the 1,000-day mark, killing soldiers on the frontlines, wasting precious resources and exhausting the population.
Despite an early surge in support for Kiev’s allies and early gains by its military, Ukraine has recently been unable to stop Russia’s grinding advance on a wider frontline.
Kremlin forces are currently making their fastest gains in at least a year, seizing village after village to capture the entire industrialized Donbass region.
Tens of thousands of soldiers have died in a tragedy that has touched families in every corner of Ukraine and made military funerals common in major cities and remote villages.
In Lviv, a bastion of national consciousness whose residents see their city as Ukraine’s cultural capital, the military cemetery has added more than 570 new graves since February 2022.
“This is the destruction of the Ukrainian nation,” said Hnady Derivyanchuk, 67, during a recent visit.
The city is a historic center of resistance to Russian rule and prides itself on its physical and cultural proximity to Europe as Kiev seeks EU membership.
As processions pass through its Old Town, the thrilling sounds of Simkiv’s trumpets bounce between the picturesque Austro-Hungarian buildings as passers-by stop to kneel in reverence.
His main duty as a city trumpeter, for which he wore a bright red uniform with golden epaulets, was to sound at noon.
An end in sight?
Like many Ukrainians, Simkiu believes that security guarantees for Ukraine, in the form of NATO membership, would be the only effective way to curb Russian ambitions.
But US President-elect Donald Trump’s cuts to key military aid and the possibility of urgent talks with Russia have also increased pressure on Kiev.
Some, like salesman Olena Hrska, whose husband was killed in the war, believe it is time to consider ending the war through negotiations.
Ukrainian officials have so far insisted on a full withdrawal of Russian troops and a return to the country’s 1991 borders before sitting down for talks with Russia.
But 32 percent of Ukrainians are willing to accept territorial concessions in exchange for peace, according to a recent Kyiv International Institute of Sociology poll — up from 14 percent a year ago.
“Ukraine without Ukrainians is no longer Ukraine,” Hrska said. “So I think it’s worth compromising on something, even if it means losing territory.”
