The ongoing war in Ukraine and its implications for the international community continue to dominate the Western media. Most outlets and experts are examining Ukraine's position in the geopolitical context, especially after the US presidential election on 5 November and the potential changes in US foreign policy with the arrival of Donald Trump's team. President Zelenskyy congratulated Donald Trump on his victory and praised his "peace through strength" approach to world affairs.
For example, in an article by The Wall Street Journal, the author notes that Donald Trump may offer a radically different approach to the war in Ukraine. Trump has a strong inclination towards pragmatism and his own geopolitical interests, which could lead to significant changes in his policy towards russia and Ukraine. The article notes that Trump's policy towards Ukraine will depend on domestic political and economic conditions in the United States. Trump has a tendency to choose the fastest and most effective solutions, which often leads to a change of position. For Ukraine, this means that its future will depend on what interests Trump will seek to satisfy on the global stage.
On the one hand, Trump may increase military aid to Ukraine as part of his strategy to weaken russia, but on the other hand, his tendency to compromise with the Kremlin may mean less support for Ukraine's territorial integrity.
Another interesting article was published in The Economist, where the authors argue that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy may find strategic advantages in the administration of the newly elected US president. Trump, according to the authors, is unlikely to question the principles of Ukraine's territorial integrity or Kyiv's pragmatic interests, but will focus on achieving specific political and economic benefits for the US. This may mean that Trump will be willing to increase military assistance to Ukraine as part of his strategy to weaken russia, but will do so without ideological convictions, and with pragmatic interests in mind. As Trump seeks to save American resources, he may see Ukraine as an effective partner to achieve his interests in Europe and on the global stage.
Under any circumstances, most European leaders have already expressed their unwavering support for Ukraine. For example, EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell promised Ukraine unwavering support on 7 November in Kyiv. This was the first visit of a senior official from Brussels after Donald Trump's election victory. Le Monde wrote about it.
In addition, according to Politico, NATO chief Mark Rutte, addressing US President-elect Donald Trump, stressed that russia's war against Ukraine poses a security threat to the United States. "russia is getting closer to its allies - Iran, North Korea and China. It threatens not only Europe, but also the Indo-Pacific region and North America," Rutte said.
Despite his controversial statements and "America First" policy, Trump may turn out to be a strategic partner for Ukraine. Kyiv's support may be pragmatic, focused on weakening russia and achieving American interests in Europe, even if it is not accompanied by ideological support.
During his election campaign, Mr Trump promised to end the war within 24 hours. Nobody—perhaps not even Mr Trump himself—knows what his peace plan actually consists of. For the moment, Ukrainian officials are working from two public formulations. The first, linked to Mr Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance, would see the conflict frozen on current lines and Ukraine forced into neutrality, with no obvious security guarantees or restraints on Mr Putin. A second plan, which Ukraine greatly prefers, was laid out by Mr Trump’s former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, in the Wall Street Journal. That focuses on enhanced military and financial support as a deterrent to Moscow, while also keeping open the prospect of membership of NATO. Much could depend on which plan Mr Trump is encouraged to favour.
Donald Trump’s promise to end the war in Ukraine by Inauguration Day now puts him in a position of having to choose between competing proposals from advisers united by a common thread—a sharp break from President Biden’s “as long as it takes” approach to arming Kyiv.
Throughout his campaign for the White House, Trump bashed Biden’s handling of Ukraine, warning that it made World War III more likely and that Kyiv fleeced the U.S. by obtaining weapons worth billions of dollars free of charge. He has said he could resolve the conflict quickly, bringing both sides to the negotiating table, but hasn’t revealed how he would do so.
European leaders have quietly launched talks on how to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s invasion without Washington’s support, even as they try to persuade President-elect Donald Trump not to cut aid to Kyiv.
At a dinner late Thursday in the Hungarian capital, European Union leaders discussed the fallout from Trump’s thumping win on Tuesday and, for the first time, talked through whether European governments could plug the gap if Trump cuts aid to Ukraine, according to people who attended the meeting.
The discussion comes at a moment of extraordinary insecurity, economic fragility and political crisis in Europe. With Russian forces making gains on the battlefield in Ukraine, Trump’s victory confronts European capitals with the prospect of sharply reduced U.S. military protection.
A Biden administration push to send billions of dollars of military equipment to Ukraine before it leaves office is facing major logistical hurdles and is raising concern that the transfers will deplete already-stretched U.S. stockpiles, officials said.
The impediments underscore how much Donald Trump’s election has disrupted the U.S.-led campaign to aid Ukraine, which has suffered severe battlefield setbacks in its war against Russia and is now grappling with the future of the Western arms pipeline that has enabled it to keep fighting.
More than $7 billion in drawdown authority allowing the Pentagon to transfer weapons and munitions to Ukraine from its stocks remains unspent, along with over $2 billion to fund long-term equipment contracts for Kyiv.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Kyiv Saturday, November 7, pledged "unwavering" support for Ukraine, on the first visit by a top Brussels official after Donald Trump's poll win.
The volatile Republican's victory in the United States election has set nerves jangling in Ukraine and Europe that Trump could end Washington's support for Kyiv's fight against Russia's invasion.
"The clear purpose of this visit is to express European Union support to Ukraine - this support remains unwavering," Borrell, who is set to leave office next month, told journalists.
Russia's war on Ukraine is a security threat for the United States too, NATO chief Mark Rutte said Tuesday in a clear message to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
"Russia is drawing ever closer to its allies Iran, North Korea and China ... It’s not only threatening Europe, but also the Indo-Pacific and North America," Rutte said, speaking before a bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
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