As Trump pressures Ukraine to give Russia land in exchange for peace, a wounded soldier asks:

Ukrainian soldier Pavlo Martsenyuk has lost count of the friends and comrades he has lost since then. Russia launched its full-scale invasion from his country almost four years ago. The 34-year-old says he does everything he can to keep alive the memories of the men he fought alongside.

Speaking from a rehabilitation center in the western city of Lviv called “Unbroken Hospital,” he told News themezone about the long and painful process of recovering from the impact of an anti-tank mine explosion that deprived him of sight in both eyes.

“I couldn’t calm down and control my flow of thoughts,” Martsenyuk said. “Everything was abuzz until I started actively working on my mental health.”

A year later, doctors reconstructed his face and he is adjusting to what he calls “a whole new life.”

Martsenyuk says his priority now is to remain a civilian and serve as an example to his children. He is also a living example of the human costs of the ongoing Russian invasion, and believes that many people outside Ukraine do not truly understand his country’s sacrifice or the broader importance of its struggle.

President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff were to meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in Moscow to discuss a US-backed proposal to end the war. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is holding meetings with several European leaders in hopes of bolstering continued support for his country’s defense.

Details of high-level discussions remain vague, but a key obstacle to reaching an agreement is Ukraine’s resistance to a proposal from the Trump administration that he agree to cede some territory to Russia in exchange for peace.

Trump argued over the weekend that his peace proposal did include Russia “making concessions.”

“These are big concessions,” he told reporters. “They stop fighting and don’t take any more land.”

Zelenskyy and some of his European supporters have spoken out against this approach, arguing that granting Russia dominion over any currently occupied Ukrainian land would set a dangerous precedent, effectively rewarding Putin for a unilateral and unprovoked invasion.

For Martsenyuk, who bears the scars of this long conflict, it is a difficult question.

“We have already given up territory, we have given up part of ourselves. How much more can we give?” ask.

European leaders, including Poland, have recently alluded to the risks highlighted by Europe’s 20th-century history of appeasing unilateral land grabs by autocrats.

“Can’t we analyze the history? Everything smells like something done before,” Martsenyuk said.

In late October, as President Trump pushed hard for Ukraine to make concessions for a peace deal (albeit without any clear request for Russia to give in on its key demands), Polish Minister Donald Tusk warned: “None of us should pressure Zelenskyy when it comes to territorial concessions.”

“We should all put pressure on Russia to stop its aggression. Appeasement was never a path to a just and lasting peace,” read the social media post by Tusk, whose nation was occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II.

But Martsenyuk is also well aware that, with the high cost his country pays every day, Ukraine will need help to continue resisting Russia’s attack, much less repel it.

Ukrainian authorities have not released official figures for soldiers killed in combat since the start of the invasion, but research published in June by the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates that between 60,000 and 100,000 of the country’s soldiers have died.

“Pity is not necessary,” he said. “It takes understanding. There is very little understanding.”