Ukrainian civilians, soldiers and political leaders still do not know what policy Donald Trump will pursue in the conflict that has pitted their country against Russia since February 2022. On several occasions, the new American president has denounced the amount of military aid granted by his country in kyiv.
A country plunging into the unknown? Following the election of Donald Trump as the new President of the United States, many questions arise about the policy he will pursue, particularly on an international scale.
At the center of all eyes, the war in Ukraine and American military support, the amount of which was frequently denounced by the Republican candidate during the electoral campaign.
On the streets of kyiv, many Ukrainians are expressing their doubts and apprehension for the coming weeks, as Donald Trump is officially scheduled to take office on January 20, 2025. “I have a kind of feeling of anxiety because that I don’t know what to expect, it’s worrying,” a Kiev woman told BFMTV.
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“He’s an eccentric person, so we don’t really know how he’s going to influence American support for Ukraine,” adds a second passer-by interviewed.
For Ukrainians, supporting their country could also influence and change the future of the entire world. “This worries everyone, not just Ukraine, but the whole world. It can be very dangerous for us and the rest of the world,” predicts one of them.
“We protect everyone civilized”
On the military front, there is great concern, and anger is gradually growing among the soldiers mobilized on the eastern Ukrainian front. “We protect the entire civilized world. While we fight, they don’t have to, their people don’t die, their cities aren’t bombed, they are safe as long as Ukraine resists,” says Rodych, a Ukrainian fighter, at BFMTV.
“As soon as they stop supporting Ukraine and it falls, they will be able to experience what it’s like to be in Ukraine,” he warns.
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was one of the first international leaders to congratulate Donald Trump on his electoral victory. A strong diplomatic gesture whereas in previous days, the Ukrainian president had warned against a halt to American military aid.
“We don’t know who will be president, but of course we understand all the risks. The biggest would be that US policy changes. I think not supporting Ukraine would be a big victory for Vladimir Putin and a big defeat for the West,” he said at the end of October in Reykjavik, Iceland.
The two men spoke by telephone on Wednesday, Volodymyr Zelensky announced, saying they had “agreed to maintain a close dialogue and advance our cooperation.”
End of the war in 24 hours?
To date, American military aid to Ukraine is equivalent to $64.1 billion, according to figures provided by the Pentagon. While waiting for Donald Trump to come to power, the outgoing Biden administration should focus, in the three months remaining before taking the oath of office, on accelerating the delivery of aid to Ukraine and continuing to implement place mechanisms so that the Europeans take over, according to diplomats.
NATO has already taken over the coordination of military aid to Ukraine, until then in the hands of Americans alone since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022. It seems unlikely, however, that Washington will lift its veto kyiv being able to use long-range missiles to strike deep into Russian territory.
Donald Trump has always praised his “very good relationship” with Vladimir Putin to end the conflict and has also described Volodymyr Zelensky as “the best salesman on the planet”. “Every time he comes to our country, he leaves with 60 billion dollars,” he quipped last September.
During an interview given in 2023 to the conservative English news channel GB News, the latter assured that he could end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours if he returned to power. A desire reiterated in September at the end of a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky. “We will resolve it,” he insisted again.
