By Andriy Perun and Dan Peleschuk
LVIV, Ukraine (Reuters) – When Russia poured troops into Ukraine nearly three years ago, Yaroslav Simkiv expected a global backlash that would force it to quickly end its full-scale invasion.
Since then, the greying trumpeter has provided the aching soundtrack to hundreds of military funeral processions as they have streamed through the cobblestone streets of Lviv.
“They can agree on an armistice and all that, but then everything will be left to our children and grandchildren,” said Simkiv, echoing a widespread belief in Ukraine that Russia will continue pressing the country for years to come.
His grim task in the Western Ukrainian city is a symbol of the war’s devastating toll as fighting approaches the 1,000-day mark, killing troops at the front, sapping precious resources and exhausting the population.
Despite an initial surge in support from Kyiv’s allies and early gains by its military, Ukraine has lately been unable to halt Russia’s grinding advance across the sprawling front line.
Kremlin troops are currently making their fastest gains in at least a year, capturing village after village in a bid to seize the entire industrialised Donbas region.
Tens of thousands of troops have died in a tragedy that has touched families in every corner of Ukraine and made military funerals in major cities and far-flung villages commonplace.
In Lviv, a bastion of national consciousness whose residents view their city as Ukraine’s cultural capital, the military cemetery has ballooned to include more than 570 new graves since February 2022.
“This is the destruction of the Ukrainian nation,” said Henadii Derevyanchuk, 67, during a recent visit.
The city is an historic centre of resistance to Russian rule and prides itself on its physical and cultural proximity to Europe as Kyiv seeks membership of the European Union.
Whenever processions pass through its Old Town, the sombre sounds of Simkiv’s trumpet bounce between charming Austro-Hungarian buildings as passersby stop to kneel in a show of respect.
His original duty as a city trumpeter, for which he dons a bright red uniform with golden epaulettes, was to ring in midday.
AN END IN SIGHT?
Like many Ukrainians, Simkiv believes security guarantees for Ukraine, in the form of NATO membership, would be the only effective way to end Russian ambitions.
But the prospect of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump cutting crucial military aid and seeking swift talks with Russia has also piled pressure on Kyiv.
Some, like sales manger Olena Hurska, 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 Russian troop withdrawal and a return to the country’s 1991 borders before sitting for talks with Russia.
But 32% of Ukrainians are ready to accept territorial concessions in exchange for peace, according to a recent poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology – up from 14% a year ago.
“A Ukraine without Ukrainians is no longer Ukraine,” said Hurska. “So it seems to me that it’s worthwhile to… compromise on something, even if it means losing territory.”
