There's something Putin and Trump will never know.

There are many wars within the same war. There are two that are drastically different. The one fought on the forehead, by young people in uniform who die every day and who previously had other livesAnd the one delivered to the offices by the leaders who decide what should happen on the front lines. Typically, the former don't know the latter's intentions. The latter often don't know what the former's daily life entails either.

"We're just puppets used to play the big game," says a Ukrainian soldier who has been fighting on one of these fronts for three years on WhatsApp. Translation: He feels like a mere pawn at the mercy—and waiting—of the moves of the great leaders, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, who called each other this Tuesday to discuss the end of the war. "I have no hope with that shitty call." "Those negotiating don't know what war is." "I only believe in survival, me and my comrades. All we can do is take care of ourselves." All the messages denote fatigue.

The soldier wants to talk about the other war, the one he sees and the one that, probably, neither Putin nor Trump will ever experience. He says that last week One of his best friends was killed on the battlefield, and this death has caused him "a special pain"He also explains that in the last Russian bombing of the village where he sleeps, the deaths of civilians were especially cruel: a second Shahed missile attack killed many of the people and rescue teams that had approached the site of the first bombing to help the first victims. He also explains that, a few days ago, a team of doctors arrived at the positions and were finally able to perform all kinds of medical tests. This last thing gave him "a strange feeling." "They did a complete ultrasound. They told me everything was fine in terms of physical health. I guess I should be happy, although that means I have no reason to avoid fighting." In wars—current and past—cases of soldiers who They are happy when a health problem is discovered: this means returning home.

This conversation takes place while Putin and Trump are talking. When the first chords emerge –that Russia will stop bombing energy infrastructure for thirty days, basically– The message the soldier sends is simple: "Great." The irony is palpable.

"Why?" I ask. "You see what good it does us: winter is ending," he says. He's right: the Kremlin attacks energy infrastructure especially in winter, leaving Ukrainians without electricity and heat, so they feel the Russian cold. I ask him one last question:

- Would you accept losing territory in exchange for the war ending?

- Objectively, we've already lost this war. We've lost a lot of good people because of this shit.