(Hannah Beier / Bloomberg via Getty Images) Former U.S. president Donald Trump and U.S. vice president Kamala Harris appear on screen during the second presidential discussion at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., on September 10, 2024. (Hannah Beier / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
On Nov. 5, the 47th President of the United States will be chosen by American citizens.
Recent polls show that Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, are neck-and-neck in the final stretch. Neither candidate has a clear lead in any of the seven battleground states.
Ukraine is perhaps the most affected by this year’s U.S. presidential election.
Trump continues to raise questions about the future of U.S. military aid for Ukraine as the country fights what Kyiv military leadership has called “one of the most powerful offensives” from Russia since the start of the all-out war, while insisting that he can broker an immediate peace agreement.
Harris is expected to follow the policy of outgoing U.S. president Joe Biden, which was generally friendly towards Kyiv but slow-paced.
In late October, President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists that “we will work with any president the United States elects.” “We hope the policy of the United States won’t change, and that they will continue to back us.”
“If the support decreases, we will rely on ourselves and on Europe’s unity, as well as the public opinion of Americans.”
The Kyiv Independent has published 14 articles about the U.S. presidential elections in 2024.
JD Vance is against military aid and NATO membership for Ukraine. He is now Trump’s choice for Vice President
Trump selected Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running partner on July 15, 2016.
Vance is a vocal supporter of Trump and a critic of U.S. assistance to Ukraine. He has also said that it would be “completely reckless” for Ukraine to join NATO.
He also argued that the U.S. should focus on preventing Chinese growth, even if it means giving up sovereign Ukrainian lands for Russia.
What could a Kamala-Harris presidency mean for Ukraine with Biden gone?
It is likely that Harris’s policy toward Ukraine will remain similar to Biden if she is elected. However, her appearances in three consecutive Munich Security Conferences – the first one being in 2022, just five days prior to the full-scale Russian invasion – have provided clues as to the exact stance Harris could take.
Experts say that Biden could cement a legacy by boosting Ukraine’s support.
The fact that U.S. Vice President Biden is no longer running for reelection gave Ukrainian soldiers, experts and advocates renewed hope that the 81 year old politician with decades of experience in transatlantic diplomacy would increase support for Ukraine during his final months as president.
Although Ukraine’s Western Allies have provided Ukraine massive amounts of weapons since Russia launched its full scale invasion in February 2022 but supplies have sometimes arrived with delays. This has led officials to complain that they are not receiving enough to defeat Moscow at the battlefield.
Harris’s choice of Tim Walz as Governor is good news for Ukraine
Harris has chosen Tim Walz, the Minnesota Governor who is a vocal supporter of Ukraine, as her running mate in the U.S. Presidential election.
Walz has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine’s fight against Russia since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. He signed legislation that bars state agencies from doing any business with Russian or Belarussian companies.
The state is also home of weapons manufacturers who supply arms crucial for Ukraine’s defence.
Harris closes convention by supporting Ukraine after almost ignoring foreign policy
Harris reminded voters, moments after accepting the Democratic nomination for President of the United States on August 22, the night of Chicago’s Democratic National Convention, that foreign policy could not be completely ignored in the 2024 elections.
“As President, I will stand firm with Ukraine and NATO allies,” Harris said firmly with a raised tone to an erupting throng of rowdy Democrats.
The vice president’s remarks, while light on policy, were consistent in their support for Ukraine’s pushback to Russia’s full scale invasion. This came after criticism of her campaign’s sprint that paid little attention to foreign-policy concerns.
U.S. sense for urgency questioned, as billions of dollars in Ukraine aid is on the line
The news that the U.S. military assistance to Ukraine, worth $6 billion, could expire at the end of September without urgent action by Congress unnerved some in Kyiv. There was still a painful memory of another package delay which led to battlefield losses.
Time is currency: Constrained US congressional visits to Ukraine stymie diplomacy
Kyiv Independent reported that a series of logistical restrictions on U.S. Congressional Members’ travel to Ukraine has led to an increasing concern about the effectiveness of American Diplomacy.
Woodward’s revelations deepen the debate on whether Trump would sell out Ukraine to the Kremlin
As the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5 approached, the debate intensified over whether Donald Trump will act in the interests Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The revelations are consistent with Trump’s past of praising Putin, and seeking a more friendly relationship with Russia. Analysts claim that Trump is a fan of Putin because he sees himself and the Russian leader together as “strongmen.”
The road to Republican US Support for Ukraine continues through Evangelicalism
In the final weeks before the election, many Republicans focused on re-igniting the evangelical support that was crucial to their party winning the White House in 2016
But Trump wasn’t alone in courting evangelicals. The largely conservative group has been the focus of Ukrainian lobbying for months, seeking to expand and consolidate Republican support for Ukraine.
In the final push before the elections, it is difficult to boost US support for Ukraine
Manus McCaffery, who served nearly three months as a member of the Ukrainian Foreign Legion (a unit in the country’s military made up of fighters from overseas), became a hero to his hometown of Parma, Ohio. The city is home to the largest diaspora community in the U.S., with roots in Ukraine.
McCaffery told The Kyiv Independent that he was “extremely uncertain”.
Trump’s reported plan ‘to freeze’ Russia’s conflict is ‘unrealistic’, Ukrainian lawmaker says
A Ukrainian lawmaker told The Kyiv Independent that a plan Trump is reportedly considering to freeze Russia’s full scale invasion if he became president, is “unrealistic”.
Oleksandr Merezhko, chair of the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Policy, said that Trump, upon taking office, would soon “face reality” and any such plan will fail in light of the political realities.
The Ukrainian diaspora quietly supports Trump in Pennsylvania, but loudly supports Harris
In the ten days leading up to the election, a dozen or so volunteers went door-to-door in Montgomery County. This is the first time that voter information in Ukrainian has been made available for one of the largest Ukrainian populations in the country. The county includes recent emigrants who did not vote from Biden’s Uniting for Ukraine parole after the full-scale invasion and thousands of others with U.S. citizenry who arrived in 1990.
Ukrainians in the U.S. weigh-in on the upcoming Trump vs Harris elections
The diaspora’s choice of president for 2024 is not united despite the fact that Harris has promised to continue to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
Some Ukrainian American voters believe that despite Trump’s hostility towards aid for Ukraine and his apparent close relationship with Putin, he is the one who can end the war quickly.
Michael McFaul, US Elections: “Trump doesn’t care fundamentally about Ukraine”
The Kyiv Independent interviewed Michael McFaul. He is a former U.S. The Kyiv Independent sat down with Michael McFaul, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia and professor of international studies at Stanford University. He also co-founded the Yermak McFaul Expert Group for Russian Sanctions.
McFaul said, “I am deeply concerned about a second Trump administration, both because of the things he may want to do deliberately and because of the things his signaling of weak might provoke unintentionally.”
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