A leap into the unknown. In choosing Donald Trump as US president, American voters have elected the most unpredictable candidate ever to head Ukraine’s main ally in its war with Russia. While a victory for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris would have ensured a form of continuity in Washington’s policy of support for Kyiv, Trump’s victory heralds a break with the past.
“The next US president may strengthen or weaken support for Ukraine. If that support weakens, Russia will seize more territory, it would prevent us from winning this war,” said Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on October 31, in an interview with the public broadcasting group KBS.
On Wednesday morning, Zelensky congratulated the future US president “on his impressive election victory” on his X account. “I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach in global affairs,” Zelensky wrote, adding, “This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer. I am hopeful that we will put it into action together.”
Read more Subscribers only Kremlin in limbo after Trump’s victory
In recent years, Trump has constantly touted his good relations with Vladimir Putin. During his campaign, he insisted that he would reach an agreement with the Russian president and bring the war to an end “in 24 hours,” without giving any further details. Trump has constantly criticized Joe Biden’s policy of support for Ukraine. Nor has he spared Zelensky, accusing him of lacking the will to find a way out of the conflict, presenting him as “the best salesman on the planet,” on September 25, while the Ukrainian head of state was visiting the US.
Evasive
The Ukrainian authorities have been cautious in recent months about the prospect of this crucial election for their war-torn country. “Trump talks a lot, but I didn’t hear him say he would reduce support for Ukraine,” said Zelensky on October 29 at a press conference in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Read more Subscribers only Zelensky seeks more support from Europe, to no avail
“With Trump as president, we would certainly be facing a crisis or lack of political will for some time,” said Ukrainian MP and former diplomat in the US Bohdan Iaremenko, on Tuesday. “But, on the positive side, we have seen that President Trump is quite capable of changing his mind under pressure from his advisers, under pressure from public opinion.”
Trump and his team have remained evasive about their plan to end the war unleashed by Russia on February 24, 2022. But the Republican candidate has repeatedly explained that he would be able to pressure his Ukrainian counterpart to join the negotiating table, raising the threat of a suspension of US aid. At the same time, in an interview with Fox News in July 2023, Trump had also claimed he would try to push the Russian president to negotiate, by threatening to open the floodgates of aid to Ukraine. The fear, for Kyiv’s allies, is that a swift resolution to this war will invariably mean territorial concessions to Russia and an abandonment of Ukraine’s aspirations to join the NATO military alliance.
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