Soldiers from the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade train in the eastern Donetsk oblast on October 26, 2024. (Andre Luis Alves/Anadolu through Getty Images).
Donald Trump announced his victory in the U.S. Presidential elections on November 6, adding to the uncertainty of many Ukrainian soldiers, who are already struggling to see the future.
Although doubts loom over Trump’s actions in the months to come, his warm relationship and claim made by him in September that Ukraine had been “demolished” with its people “dead”, has left Kyiv concerned.
In his victory speech, Trump, the Republican party leader, did not mention the war in Ukraine directly. Instead, he reminded the cheering audience that “no wars were fought” in the United States during his first term as president from 2017 to 2020, before Joe Biden became the Democratic party’s next president.
Trump declared, “I won’t start wars. I’m going stop wars,” as U.S. news outlets began to report the Republican candidate’s projected win.
In his only debate on Sept. 10 with Democratic Party nominee U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris of the United States, Trump refused to mention that he wanted an Ukrainian victory.
Trump’s sweep victory comes as Russian troops continue gaining ground in a grinding assault across multiple axes, forcing the outmanned Ukrainians to retreat little by little. Moscow‘s latest victory was in the southern part Donetsk Oblast where its troops captured Vuhledar, a town which had been a Ukrainian stronghold for over two years.
General Oleksandr Sryskyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces acknowledged on Nov. 2, that Russia is waging its “most powerful offensive” since it launched its full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2020. Bloomberg reported that Russia captured 1,150 square kilometers (almost the size of Los Angeles), during the period August-October. This is “about a quarter” more than it did in the first seven month of the year, according to its calculations, which were based on crowd-sourced open Intelligence DeepState map services.
“I don’t think Trump can scare Putin,” Yurii, 52-year-old deployed soldier in Zaporizhzhia Oblast’s southeastern region said.
“It could be a disaster, if he takes some strange decisions, as he already has – for instance, statements about leaving NATO etc.”
The Kyiv independent asked five Ukrainian servicemen what they thought of Trump’s victory.
Serhii Koniukh
Anesthetist, 44 years old, deployed in Zaporizhzhia Oblast’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast
Trump’s victory was first and foremost the choice of America, the country.
It’s a shame that a country as large as Ukraine is so dependent on the results of other countries’ elections. The whole country of Ukraine waited as if these elections were its own.
What is the future of Ukraine like? You understand, this was all a pre-election discussion between two candidates. It’s obvious that the Democrats supported more of us. There was military assistance, which is uncertain (going forward).
I want to tell you that you should rely on yourself, not someone else. Not your older brother. Not your friends. I’ve always told people to rely on themselves in all aspects of life, whether it be work, business or everyday life.
This has woken us up. But it should also awaken our government and our entire population so that we can unite and communicate. We have our own goals. We are only observers and not participants. We have our own President, who must now lead our entire country and not be dependent on elections.
“Spys”
A 35-year old junior lieutenant and artilleryman fighting in Kursk Oblast
Commenting on Trump’s quote that he could end the war in one day, I would like to ask: Do I want it to end? Everyone in the Armed Forces, and even civilians, want it to end. If the war ends now, will it start again in 10-20 years? Yes, it will start again.
I think that (freezing the conflict) will be a loss for Ukraine and its allies. Then it will become a low intensity conflict and after a time, when Russia gains more strength, it’ll go to war.
Do I want to stop the missiles from flying? Yes, I want to go home! Yes, I do. I’ve lived here for nearly three years and I was here a year before a full-scale war. Do I want to see the war start again later? I don’t want it to happen!
“Bart”
A sniper from the Special Operation Forces is undergoing rehabilitation in Kyiv following a deployment to northeastern Kharkiv Oblast
This is America’s business, I believe.
I don’t believe that support for Ukrainians would stop with the election Trump. I believe that there will be more decisive action.
You could, for example, ask for permission to strike Russian territory using ATACMS. Or you could express your real concern about the North Koreans’ deployment.
I do not believe that Biden or his administration is capable of doing anything.
If you remember, Trump started sending us the first Javelins. Biden has made America a mere tolerater, not a superpower. Maybe I’m an optimist.
Myroslav Hai
Officer in the Ukrainian army
We congratulate first the American people, because their elections are a major event for the entire world, not just the United States.
We will support any administration, regardless of who is president, because we have the backing of the American people.
Many Ukrainians reside in the United States. It’s a large diaspora. They are involved in American politics. They help us.
We are in a difficult position, but we have a positive outlook on the future. We won’t stop fighting. We will fight to protect our democracy and independence.
I believe that the American people can help us win our battle for democracy and freedom.
Let’s try and analyze the facts. Trump is the president who destroyed that Russian airbase in Syria. I remember that the Trump administration was first to provide us with Javelins. This opened the door for more weapons to come from our Western allies. Then came Abrams and F-16s but we were more interested in Javelins.
I remember a time when Trump was President, when U.S. Special Forces destroyed a Wagner fighter group.
It means that Trump was very aggressive in his politics and had many conflicts with Putin and Russians.
I don’t know why some people, including journalists, are so concerned about the future of America if Trump becomes president.
I think that it is the first priority of the American people, and if he continues to be strong with the Russians, as he did before, then everything will be fine.
I don’t believe that he likes Putin. We don’t know what he thinks. We’ll see what he does.
I don’t trust politicians when they promise to do something. I only believe them if they actually do it.
Oleksii
A medic with the 17th Kryvyi Rih Tank Brigade
I don’t believe our politicians because they do some surprising stuff. It’s the same with Trump. I want to see everything end in a win, not with concessions.
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