Updated November 24, 2025 at 6:51 AM EST
TERNOPIL, Ukraine — The charred, jagged remains of brick walls claw against the gray sky, after Russian projectiles tore off the front of an apartment building in this western Ukrainian city.
The attack that destroyed the seven-story residential building and killed at least 34 people came in the early morning hours of Nov. 19 — about the same time the latest draft of a peace plan with Russia was being finalized in Washington, D.C.
Among the dead were several children. A bulldozer sifted through the rubble as sniffer dogs continued their grim search for missing bodies.
The new plan endorsed by the Trump administration seems to heavily favor Russia's interests, and was drawn up without significant input from Ukraine, or the participation of Kyiv's European allies.
This latest diplomatic development does little to alleviate the shock that hangs over a crowd of onlookers in Ternopil.
Locals frightened by bombardment
A crowd of ashen-faced locals gathers on the sidewalk to watch the building's excavation. Beside them on the cold morning a pile of candles, flowers and stuffed animals slowly expands. Nila Chura, 74, lives a few streets over and says the air alerts that night started about 3 a.m. "Usually at this time we're already thinking that nothing is going to happen, if it hasn't already," she says. But the bombing that night had continued until around 8 am. Chura says it was terrifying.
Kateryina Rushkov, 39, says she cowered for five hours with her two children in their basement. "I have a six year old daughter and she was very scared. She kept screaming, 'mom, mom, we're dying.' It was really hard," she recalls. "But it's harder for these kids who died for nothing."
For nothing, says Rushkov, because this latest peace plan equates to a capitulation for Ukraine. Both women, and indeed all residents NPR interviewed this past week, said Ukraine's president Volodymir Zelenskyy should not sign what they consider a lopsided deal.
In a public address to his nation over the weekend, Zelenskyy said the country now faces one of the most difficult moments in its history. It may have to choose between losing the support of a key partner, the United States, or forsaking its national dignity.
For Ukrainians and many of their European allies, the 28-point plan developed by the Trump administration reads like a Kremlin wish list.
Ukrainian anger at new peace plan
Ukraine would be asked to give up cities and territory in the strategic Donbas region in the country's East, part of which it still controls. It would also be required to limit its military manpower. But there would be no such constraints on Russia's armed forces, and Vladimir Putin would be welcomed back into the G8 group of nations, while Washington would remove all sanctions currently imposed on Moscow. The proposed deal also includes a joint Russian-U.S. exploration deal for the Arctic.
While negotiators from the U.S., Russia, Ukraine and the European Union will meet in Geneva over the next few days to work through details of the plan, Trump has said he is giving Zelenskyy until Thursday to make a decision.
Several European leaders have said they will seek to alter the deal. German chancellor Friedrich Merz, though apparently loath to confront the Trump administration directly, said any plan to end the war must have the agreement of Ukraine and Europe, given the future repercussions for European security.
Ordinary Ukrainians demand changes to the proposal, too. "Why are they not doing anything towards Russia?" demands Inga Shkarupa, a 44 year-old gym teacher who lives in Ternopil. "I don't see anything towards Russia. It feels like Russia is the victim, not us. But we are paying the price," she told NPR. "People are dying, cities are getting destroyed and Russia is just washing their hands of it."
Shkarupa said her fellow citizens have already made it clear they do not wish to be part of Russia. "We decided 30 years ago," she explained. "We want to be part of Europe. We're not brothers or sisters, this is centuries old propaganda. They've been destroying us— our books, our language — they say we don't exist."
She also wonders why President Trump, Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have yet to visit Ukraine since taking office in January. "You know they're proposing some kind of peace for us without us, so why didn't they come here to feel what we feel," she told NPR. "Maybe they would have a different perspective."
Corruption scrutiny on Ukraine's leadership
But Zelenskyy faces increasing pressure, with his government weakened by a massive corruption scandal. Investigators have revealed a $100 million money-laundering scheme that involves the state nuclear company. It is the greatest crisis facing the Ukrainian leader since the start of Russia's invasion in February 2022.
For ordinary residents of a town like Ternopil, dealing with frequent loss of power and heating supplies, the corruption has also prompted anger. "It weakens our position dramatically," says 44-year-old Svetlana Chomkua. "Because in the beginning everyone was helping us. But slowly things are being cut because they see what's happening here."
Septuagenarian Neela Chura does not want to believe Zelenskyy himself is involved, "because I voted for him," she says, though she's grateful there remains an independent anti-corruption agency that can investigate without restrictions. "It should just be allowed to do its work and reach the truth."
But regardless of the outcome of that investigation, Ternopil's beleaguered residents do not expect Russia's Putin will stop the attacks on Ukraine, unless he is defeated. Gesturing at the destruction behind her, Chura asks a question, full of angry indignation: "How could we ever sign such a deal with the people who did this to civilians and sleeping children?"
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