Donald Trump, Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. president, at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, on November 4, 2024. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Foreign leaders congratulate the former president for returning to the White House.
The Republican Party will also control the U.S. Senate. The results of the House elections are still being tallied. This will affect how – if at all – any future aid from Washington arrives in Kyiv.
Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, congratulated Donald Trump for his victory in the U.S. Presidential election. He expressed hope for “strong bipartisan US support for Ukraine.”
“Congratulations to President Trump. We are ready to work together, as we have done for the past four years. Your convictions and mine. With respect and ambition. “For more peace and prosperity,” wrote French president Emmanuel Macron.
The result is the culmination one of the most consequential modern political contests — not only for Ukraine.
On Jan. 20, when Trump and Senator J.D. On Jan. 20, when Trump and Senator J.D.
Trump’s victory in the election partially answers Ukraine’s anxious questions about the future of its defense efforts, as it continues to depend on the support of its largest Western backer. This was one issue that separated Trump, 78 years old, from Harris 60 years old.
As Ukraine struggled in the final hours of the election to contain Russian advances, it was widely agreed that Trump’s win would mean a more uncertain future for U.S. assistance for Ukraine than if Harris – who had promised to stand by Kyiv until Ukraine triumphed – had won.
The Kyiv Independent quoted Timothy Snyder, a historian from the United States who specializes in Central and Eastern Europe.
“What Trump said about Ukraine was not that he would try to solve the issue, but he would essentially try and present the Ukrainians to be the problem and then punish them because they defended their own country.”
It is unclear whether Trump’s sometimes hostile history with Zelensky has any impact on his approach to Kyiv’s needs during wartime. In October, Trump’s accusation of Zelensky was the latest in a long-running, fraught relationship.
The first major rupture was a phone call in 2019 between Zelensky, then-President Trump and Mick Mulvaney. This occurred a week after Trump instructed his acting chief, Mick Mulvaney to withhold almost $400 million of military aid for Kyiv.
Zelensky told the American ambassador that he needed additional aid to buy weapons made in the United States, namely Javelin antitank missiles.
“I’d like you to do us some favors, though,” Trump replied before asking Zelensky for dirt on his Democratic opponent Joe Biden’s family. Trump’s request to do a favor led to his first impeachment, and a permanent stain in the relationship between the two leaders.
Zelensky and Trump spoke in July and again in September, when Zelensky gave Trump the Ukraine’s victory strategy in New York.
“We have a good relationship,” Trump said standing next to Zelensky. “And I also have a good relationship, as I know, with President (Vladimir Putin) of (Russia), and I think that if we win, I think we’ll get (the war), resolved very quickly.”
Zelensky, interrupting Trump with his hand, added, “I hope we,” — gesturing to Trump and himself — “have better relationships between us.”
In his only debate with Harris, on September 10, Trump refused to mention that he wanted an Ukrainian victory.
Trump said, “I believe it’s in the U.S. best interest to finish this war and just get it over with. Negotiate a deal.”
According to a report in October, Trump’s plan, which calls for the U.S. to “get out” of Ukraine within “24 hours”, would benefit Russia, as it would cede Ukrainian territory and create autonomous regions in eastern Ukraine.
In an interview with The Kyiv Independent, Evelyn Farkas said that Trump’s view was that he wanted to do all he could to help Putin, for whatever reason. He’s fascinated by Putin in particular.
“It will take all of the will and fighting of the people under him to continue the current policy of support for Ukraine, and to oppose Russia’s autocratic agenda.”
The American economy will suffer if Trump cuts U.S. assistance to Ukraine. The U.S. Defense Industrial Base has received more than $50 billion in investments due to America’s support for Ukraine. Billions of dollars have been sent to states like Arkansas, Alabama and Florida that helped Trump win the White House.
“Trump and Vance made it difficult to get assistance to Ukraine,” Gregory Meeks, highest-ranking Democrat in the House Foreign Affairs Committee said in a Kyiv Independent statement.
“We have no indication their approach will change, but a Democratic-controlled Congress can work across the aisle to push for that support.”
Putin’s?cheerleader? or Kyiv supporters?
Alexander Vindman (former director of European affairs at Trump’s National Security Council) told a crowd in Philadelphia of Ukrainians supporting Harris that Trump played a crucial role in inviting Putin to attack in 2022.
“It was because Trump was a Putin cheerleader… (so) he felt emboldened to start the war. We’re facing a world where Trump and J.D. Vance is the worst vice-presidential candidate that you can imagine, not only for Ukraine, but also for European security. He will be able and initiate immense amounts of harm for Ukraine.”
Boris Johnson, former British Prime Minister and one of Kyiv’s loudest supporters, told CNN in an interview on November 4 that he does not believe Trump will abandon Ukraine. He cited the Javelin missiles Trump had approved for Ukraine in 2017.
“There are people who believe Trump is better than Putin for Ukraine. He is not. Vindman, Trump’s former Director of European Affairs at the NSC, said that the narrative that he provided military aid is not entirely accurate.
“It was adults in the room that really advised the provision of assistance, these people do not exist anymore and would not be part of a new Trump administration.”
Voters in the Ukrainian diaspora, who spoke to the Kyiv independent, said that they are aware of many Ukrainian Americans, who believe Trump is the better candidate for Ukraine. They cite his appearance of strength and power.
Snyder believes that this argument is gendered, as it comes primarily from men who don’t want a woman in the White House.
Snyder said: “This is an argument that is very strong. Trump is strong, therefore Trump will make America stronger, and America will be able solve all its foreign policy issues, including Ukraine.”
“It is a way to rationalize the things that Trump says about Russia and Ukraine, because it is a big story about strength, which allows you forget about the details. That Trump has never been strong in relation to Putin, he was extremely submissive.”
Trump’s victory came after the Harris campaign intentionally sought the votes of Ukrainian Americans, with a message about security for Eastern Europe. According to Marta Fedoriw of the Kyiv independent, a Harris-supporting Ukrainian American who spoke to the Kyiv Independent, the Democratic Party is too close with communism.
The Trump campaign emphasized this throughout the campaign. Trump himself called Harris a “Marxist, communist” and a “fascist, socialist.”
Snyder said that this rhetoric could potentially affect thousands of voters in other Eastern European diasporas.
It’s understandable that Ukrainians are traumatized by the communist regime.
Biden’s final moves
For Ukrainians who fear that Trump’s presidency will mean the end of American support of Ukraine, President Biden still has three months to consolidate his decades of experience in foreign policy on a legacy policy for Ukraine.
Since Harris replaced Biden as the Democratic nominee, there has been a lingering hope among Ukrainians, that Biden, once he is no longer concerned about Harris’s campaign, will take concrete steps to help Kyiv.
Farkas, a former deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Russia and Ukraine in the Obama administration, believes that now that the Biden Administration doesn’t need to worry about Harris’s election, they will very likely lift restrictions on Kyiv being able to strike deep within Russia with U.S. made weapons.
Snyder said: “(Biden’s) foreign policy legacy is normality. He restored the idea that America is a normal nation, and we have allies.”
“But if the President wants to leave a legacy in foreign policy, it has to be Ukraine. It’s not going to be Middle East.”
Snyder claims that this is possible, as Biden could release weapons, lift restrictions on Kyiv’s ability to strike deep within Russia with U.S. weaponry, and work to extend an invitation to NATO, before Trump takes office.
Snyder, a historian who has studied autocracies in Eastern Europe, is most concerned about what Trump has said. In September, Trump declared that Ukraine was already “demolished.”
Snyder says that what he is doing here is preparing for when he becomes president and gives Putin free reign. Snyder believes Trump will blame the Biden White House for Trump’s grim outlook on Ukraine.
Trump’s line is that “Ukraine has already been destroyed and that it’s Biden’s responsibility, so let’s get on with our lives.”
Owen Racer is a freelance journalist based in New York City. He has contributed to National Public Radio stations such as WHYY, WVXU and WWNO. Cincinnati-native, John A. Smith, has also contributed to KFF Health News, American City Business Journals and other publications. He studied journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and economics at the University of Cincinnati. Read more
Read More @ kyivindependent.com