Donald Trump's victory plunges Ukraine into the unknown

Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting in New York, September 24, 2024. JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON / AP

A leap into the unknown. By choosing Donald Trump as President of the United States, American voters have elected the most unpredictable candidate to lead Ukraine's main ally in its war against Russia. If a victory for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris were to ensure a form of continuity in the policy of support provided to kyiv by Washington, that of Donald Trump heralds a rupture.

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“The next US president could strengthen or weaken support for Ukraine. If this support weakens, Russia will seize more territory, which will prevent us from winning this war.”declared Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on October 31, during an interview with the public audiovisual group KBS.

Wednesday morning, the head of state congratulated the future American president “for his impressive electoral victory” on his X account. “I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach to global affairs”written by M. Zelensky. “This is exactly the principle that can concretely bring us closer to a just peace in Ukraine. I hope we implement it together. »

In recent years, Mr. Trump has continually touted his good relations with Vladimir Putin. During his campaign, he insisted that he would find an agreement with the Russian president and succeed in putting an end to the war “in less than twenty-four hours”without giving further details. Mr. Trump has continued to criticize Joe Biden's policy of support for Ukraine. He also did not spare Mr. Zelensky, accusing him of lacking the will to find a way out of the conflict, presenting him as “the best salesperson on the planet”on September 25, while the Ukrainian head of state was visiting the United States.

Evasives

The Ukrainian authorities have been cautious in recent months regarding the prospect of this crucial election for their country at war. “Trump talks a lot, but I haven’t heard him say he would reduce support for Ukraine”said Mr. Zelensky on October 29 during a press conference in Reykjavik, Iceland.

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“With a President Trump, we would certainly face crisis or lack of political will for a while”said Bohdan Yaremenko, a former diplomat in the United States and deputy of the Ukrainian presidential Servant of the People party, on Tuesday. “But the positive side is that we have seen that President Trump is quite capable of changing his mind under pressure from his advisors, under pressure from public opinion. »

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