Before the war, I was a printer in Kyiv. I had travelled the world, met my wife and started a small business making advertising materials and T-shirts. Like many others, I had plans for the future and dreams of a peaceful life.

Now, I serve in the Ukrainian army — not because I am choosing war but because the violence came to my doorstep three years ago. Since Russia began its campaign to control our country, I have had no choice but to stand and defend my home, my people and our freedom. I want to share what the invasion has taught me about the value of freedom because it is essential to peace.

When I think about peace, I think about my family and how it has grown. Recently, my wife and I welcomed twin daughters into this world. But instead of looking forward to their first steps or first words, I find myself asking, “Will they grow up free, or in an occupied land where everything Ukrainian is erased?”

At the same time, I hear US thought leaders like Elon Musk ask what Ukrainians are fighting and dying for. After three years of war — a war that has killed our friends, injured me and threatened my family — hearing such words is unbearable.

The answer to Musk’s question is simple: We are fighting for our right to exist as a nation.

I used to think this answer was American in principle, and in the spring of 2022, most Americans stood with us. We couldn’t have survived this long without the United States’ support. I literally owe my life to it — commanding a Bradley infantry fighting vehicle supplied by the US has saved me more times than I can count.

Between the man-made horrors of the modern battlefield, mine explosions and drone strikes, thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been pulled from combat alive thanks to American equipment, training and aid. Your country’s support doesn’t just help us liberate our homes — it keeps us alive and able to return to them.

But since Donald Trump has come back into office, everything has changed. Watching his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on February 28 made one thing clear: Trump is determined to end the war at any cost, without any concern for what happens next or the destruction it may cause to my people.

It appears the president of the United States has a different understanding of peace than we Ukrainians do, and he doesn’t care what our country looks like the day after his deal goes through because he simply wants to be the man who ended the war.

He speaks about caring for Ukrainian soldiers, but he recently blocked critical aid to Ukraine, and this led to our army being less able to defend itself as the casualties continued to mount.

One soldier who was killed was a friend of mine. He died in my arms in the ruins of a house — a place that was once someone’s home. I held his hand as he became delirious and began speaking to his wife as if she were there with him. He told her how much he loved her, that she needed to finish their home renovations, and that they would send their son to school.

He was a builder who joined the army voluntarily in the first days of the invasion. I held him as he died and thought about how another wife is left without a husband, another child will not have a father, and another mother will mourn her son. I think of him when I hear American leaders say Ukraine is responsible for this war.

Every war eventually comes to an end, and like every Ukrainian, I dream of the day when peace finally returns to our land. We want to live, build our future, and shape our nation — a country with a thousand years of history. But what kind of peace are we being offered?

The recent talks between Ukraine and the US — and the discussion of a ceasefire — bring a glimmer of hope. But will Russia agree? I highly doubt it. And even if it does — what happens next? History has proven time and again that agreements with Russia hold no value. I have no illusions: The Kremlin will never abandon its imperial ambitions. If left unchecked, it will regroup, rearm, and strike again.

The citizens of Ukraine know the cost of Russian promises. We remember the names of people who are no longer here today because Vladimir Putin lied. Those lies mean I can’t watch my children grow up. My mother’s hair is turning gray from the stress of knowing her only son is at war. I don’t know what the future will be for the people I love or myself. Still, I will keep fighting because I refuse to let my country be swallowed up by Russia.

Ukrainians, Europeans and Americans can’t take more time learning Putin is not ready for peace. This whole nightmare would end if Russia left Ukraine. Although the war has taught me a lot, I don’t understand why Ukraine — the victim — is constantly pressured to compromise while the aggressor faces no real consequences. We are smaller, but we are not lesser. The United States has never shied away from standing up to tyranny. I want to know what has changed now.

What security guarantees will Ukraine receive, and from whom, when the US is retreating from Europe? Who will ensure that evil does not go unpunished, that the massacres, the destroyed cities and the hundreds of thousands of innocent lives lost are not forgotten? A ceasefire without justice is not peace — it’s merely a pause before the next war.

A forced freeze of the front lines, as they are today, would not end the war — it would only postpone the next stage of Russia’s aggression. Why should we surrender our land? Why should we be asked to accept the destruction of our homes and the slaughter of our people as something to be forgiven? I cannot forget. I will not forgive.

To me, this is not peace — it is surrender. It is a betrayal of the free and democratic world in the face of growing dictatorships. A rushed ceasefire, driven by political expediency, will not bring stability. It will only plant the seeds of an even greater war, and as always, it will be ordinary Ukrainians who pay the price — lives that seem to matter to Western politicians only in their speeches.

I know that many Americans support us and are angry with their elected politicians for turning their backs on Ukraine, and I thank them.

I’m afraid of dying and leaving my family behind. I’m afraid of being maimed while fighting and becoming a burden to my wife and children. The best of Ukraine is fighting and dying. The most honorable and the most courageous are trying to bring freedom to our people.

I joined the army because of freedom. I want my people to live in our own home, on our own terms. Now that I’ve met my 2-month-old twin daughters, my only dream is for them to grow up alive and in a peaceful Ukraine. I don’t want to emigrate. I was born here, and I want to raise my daughters in my country. This war is horrifying, bleak and impossible to explain to civilians who don’t live it. I ask for your help and pray you never find yourself in our position.

Sergii Gavryliuk is a father, son, and before he joined Ukraine’s army, the owner of a typography business. He is currently a junior sergeant in Ukraine’s armed forces and a Bradley IFV commander. You can follow him on X at @GarvyliukSergii.