{"id":251897,"date":"2025-03-05T02:34:06","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T02:34:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/05\/at-ukraines-trump-themed-cafe-patrons-demand-a-name-change\/"},"modified":"2025-03-05T02:34:06","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T02:34:06","slug":"at-ukraines-trump-themed-cafe-patrons-demand-a-name-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/05\/at-ukraines-trump-themed-cafe-patrons-demand-a-name-change\/","title":{"rendered":"At Ukraine\u2019s Trump-Themed Cafe, Patrons Demand a Name Change"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/04\/multimedia\/04ukraine-react-02-vbwl\/04ukraine-react-02-vbwl-facebookJumbo-v2.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"At Ukraine\u2019s Trump-Themed Cafe, Patrons Demand a Name Change\" title=\"At Ukraine\u2019s Trump-Themed Cafe, Patrons Demand a Name Change\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At the Trump Pizza Station in Kyiv, where the internet password is \u201cTrumpLovesYou,\u201d one woman burst into tears when she learned that the United States was suspending military aid to Ukraine. Another sipped a cappuccino with banana milk and lamented that the whole world seemed to be abandoning her country. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Most people at the neighborhood pizza and coffee joint on Tuesday morning agreed that it was time for the Trump Pizza Station to change its name, citing the losses they had suffered in three years of war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Anastasiia Berehovenko, 24, who is studying to be an obstetrician-gynecologist, stood in line for a bottle of water and counted off the people she knew who had been killed by the Russians on her fingers: Her brother, a childhood friend, her neighbors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Then she stopped.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cHonestly, I don\u2019t even think I have enough fingers to count everyone I know who has died,\u201d she said. \u201cI think this is all very sad for us, for Ukrainians. It only means one thing \u2014 that even more Ukrainians may die.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In recent weeks, every day feels like a fresh punch in the gut to Ukraine, whose cities have been under assault by Russian forces since the full-scale invasion of February 2022.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Under Joseph R. Biden Jr., the United States was Ukraine\u2019s biggest ally. But since President Trump took power in January, the United States has done an <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/25\/us\/politics\/trump-diplomacy.html\" title=\"\">about-face<\/a> on its foreign policy, making good relations with Russia a priority over those with Ukraine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Trump has called President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine a dictator and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/19\/world\/europe\/ukraine-zelensky-trump-russia-war.html\" title=\"\">falsely blamed his country<\/a> for starting the war. U.S. officials <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/18\/world\/europe\/us-russia-saudi-ukraine.html\" title=\"\">held initial peace talks<\/a> with senior Russian officials in Saudi Arabia \u2014 without inviting Ukraine. And then on Friday, a meeting between Mr. Zelensky, Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance turned <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/01\/us\/politics\/zelensky-showdown-trump.html\" title=\"\">spectacularly hostile<\/a>. The leaders failed to sign a deal on critical minerals as they had been expected to do.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Since then, all Ukraine seems to have been holding its breath. Many people had been hoping for the resurrection of the minerals deal, so that the United States would continue to support Ukraine in return for a share of profits from its resources.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But on Tuesday morning, those hopes were dashed \u2014 at least for now \u2014 when news spread that the United States was temporarily suspending <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/03\/us\/politics\/trump-ukraine-military-aid.html\" title=\"\">military aid<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Aliona Khrul, 24, a lawyer, didn\u2019t see the news before going to the Trump Pizza Station to get a coffee and a tuna sandwich. When she heard about the U.S. decision, she started crying.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI feel like we are being abandoned, just abandoned by everyone,\u201d said Ms. Khrul, who like everyone else here, said she had lost people in the war, including a classmate and a close friend. Last week, she attended the funeral of a good friend of her boyfriend who was killed fighting at the front.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">She added: \u201cAnd in the end, what was the point of all the fighting, of all the people who died? I don\u2019t know what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Across the country, from the occupied territories in the east to cities in western Ukraine, people said they were shocked and upset about what the U.S. decision might mean. Some said Ukraine would have to make the best of a bad peace; others said Ukraine would keep fighting, hopefully with European support.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Artem Kholodevych, 33, a lieutenant colonel in the military who lost his right leg at the front, said he believed that Ukraine had enough stockpiles of weapons to hold out until European allies could increase aid deliveries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIf U.S. aid does not resume throughout Trump\u2019s entire presidency, it will be an unpleasant and challenging period for us,\u201d he said. \u201cBut in that case, European security will face an even greater threat, which is why I am confident that our allies in Europe will respond accordingly and significantly increase their support for Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In Crimea, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014, one woman, who spoke anonymously by phone because she was worried about retaliation from Russia, said she felt Mr. Trump was trying to get Ukraine to accept a bad deal by temporarily suspending aid.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cUkraine now has very little room to maneuver,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Members of Mr. Trump\u2019s team were not politicians, but political entrepreneurs, she said. \u201cThey perceive Ukraine as a weak competitor in this marketplace, one that must accept the conditions set by the market leader and submit.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">She added: \u201cUnfortunately, humanitarianism is absent from U.S. politics. They do not care about Ukraine\u2019s casualties, its tragedies, or the war crimes committed by Russia against Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Many Ukrainians had hoped that Mr. Trump would bring peace.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In the months after the U.S. election in November, they said that Mr. Trump\u2019s unpredictable style might actually help Ukraine. Some Ukrainians spoke positively about Mr. Trump\u2019s business acumen and had hoped that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia \u2014 rather than Mr. Zelensky \u2014 might rub Mr. Trump the wrong way.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">After Mr. Trump\u2019s 2016 election, one Ukrainian businessman even created two cafes named after Mr. Trump, including what is now the pizza place.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Trump Pizza Station used to be the Trump White Coffee Bar but decided to add pizza to the menu in January. The pizzas have English names, and the restaurant\u2019s soundtrack features a lot of ZZ Top, including the song \u201cBreakaway,\u201d a song about a potential breakup.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">One pizza, the Trumpino, has red sauce, prosciutto, artichoke hearts, mushrooms and Grana Padano cheese. On some of the signage, the letter \u201cu\u201d in Trump has been made to look like a half-filled coffee cup.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Volodymyr Pynzenyk, 31, a risk management consultant, was eating at the cafe on Tuesday afternoon and pointed out that Ukraine had started producing its own weapons. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cNothing much changes for us. We have always had to be in the position that we are independent, for ourselves,\u201d he said. He added: \u201cPerhaps the situation is not as critical as it seems.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Many people here complained about the cafe\u2019s name. Here was one thing they could change, something tangible, when everything else felt so out of control.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI don\u2019t think this place will survive with that name here,\u201d said Dasha Holomoz, 21, a college student who complained there were no other cafes nearby.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-8\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Over the past month, people started asking the cafe\u2019s employees about the name, sometimes aggressively, according to the manager, Serhii, 37, who didn\u2019t want his last name used so that he would not be targeted by online critics in Russia. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Serhii, who wore a T-shirt with the colors of the Ukrainian flag and the word \u201cUnbreakable\u201d on the front, said he was against changing the name \u2014 they had been building the Trump coffee brand for the past five years, after all. But the owner has caved.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Soon, he said, the Trump Pizza Bar will be known as the Frank Pizza Station \u2014 \u201cfrank\u201d as in honest and forthright. By Tuesday night, the cafe had already changed <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/frank.kyiv?igsh=YjhybHFlNjd5Zzhs\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">its social media profile<\/a> to feature the new name.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Oleksandra Mykolyshyn<!-- -->, <!-- -->Liubov Sholudko<!-- --> and <!-- -->Evelina Riabenko<!-- --> contributed reporting from Kyiv, and <!-- -->Yurii Shyvala<!-- --> from Lviv, Ukraine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/04\/world\/europe\/trump-ukraine-pizza-cafe.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At the Trump Pizza Station in Kyiv, where the internet password is \u201cTrumpLovesYou,\u201d one woman burst into tears when she learned that the United States was suspending military aid to Ukraine. Another sipped a cappuccino with banana milk and lamented that the whole world seemed to be abandoning her country. Most people at the neighborhood [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":251898,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/04\/multimedia\/04ukraine-react-02-vbwl\/04ukraine-react-02-vbwl-facebookJumbo-v2.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[8253,487,189,163575,164576,168195,195050,202,52,195049,1130,11626,128437,34139,8774],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251897"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251897"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":251899,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251897\/revisions\/251899"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/251898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}