Hope and pragmatism compete on the Ukrainian front amid Trump’s election

Kyiv, Ukraine — Soldiers from a Ukrainian artillery battery on front lines in the east of the country were only vaguely aware of the US election results pointing to a victory for Donald Trump on Wednesday, but had high hopes for the next president of the United States.

Their fortified artillery battery fires at Russian troops every day – and comes under fire almost as often. Just the other day, one of their hanging nets caught a Russian drone.

“I hope that the number of weapons, the number of guns, will increase for our victory,” the 39-year-old unit commander, known as Mozart, said hours earlier. Trump’s victory confirmed. “We don’t care who becomes president as long as they don’t cut us off from help, because we need it.”

Although Trump’s election questions U.S. support for Ukraine—and ultimately whether Kyiv can repel a Russian invasion—soldiers using their Starlink connection to the Internet have heard sparingly. results from Associated Press journalists.

Mozart, who like other soldiers on Wednesday did not give his name in keeping with Ukrainian military protocol and gave musical nicknames to battlefield positions, is among many Ukrainians who hope Trump will toe the line of American support for their country. Russian troops have made recent gains in the east, although commanders have described the situation on the front line as “static”.

It was under Trump that the USA sent weapons to Ukraine for the first time in the fight against Russia in 2017. These Javelin anti-tank missiles played a critical role in Ukraine’s ability to repel a full-scale invasion in 2022. But in general, Trump is wary of US involvement in foreign conflicts.

Trump, who has touted his good relationship with President Vladimir Putin and called the Russian leader “pretty smart” for invading Ukraine, has repeatedly criticized American support for Ukraine. He described Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky as “the greatest salesman on Earth” who won US aid.

Zelensky was one of the first world leaders to publicly congratulate Trump and said they discussed how to end “Russian aggression against Ukraine” when they met in September.

“I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to a ‘peace through strength’ approach to global affairs. It is this principle that can practically bring a just peace in Ukraine closer. I hope we can put this into action together,” he wrote on social media platform X.

Trump has repeatedly stated that he will have A peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia was concluded during the day if elected, although he did not say how. During a debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, he twice refused to answer directly the question of whether he wants Ukraine to win, raising fears that Kyiv will be forced to accept unfavorable terms in any negotiations he oversees.

In Kyiv, which is under almost daily Russian drone attacks, 18-year-old Victoria Zubritskaya spoke pragmatically about her expectations of the next American president. She believes that under Trump’s presidency, Ukraine will be forced to give up territories in exchange for peace. But she said she preferred that to what she called the false hope offered by the Biden administration.

“We will live in a world of facts where we will be sure of what awaits us,” the law student said. “Confidence and objective truth are much better than lies and living in illusions.”

According to VoteCast, 74% of Harris voters supported continued aid to Ukraine, while only 36% of Trump voters supported it. AP VoteCast is a survey of the American electorate conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago.

On the front lines in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkov region, Andrei, known as “Rodich” or “Kindaw”, has come to terms with the fact that he has no power to influence the American vote.

“No matter what happens, we’ll figure something out,” he said.

“We are a shield between Europe and Russia,” he added. “Other countries don’t understand what’s happening here, they see it on TV and it’s a long way off for them.”

America’s NATO allies also watched the elections closely. France And Germany organized a last-minute summit in Paris in Paris to discuss the results, and Ukraine is likely to be central to the meeting. The two leading powers of the European Union are providing significant support to Ukraine in its defense from war with Russia.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, referring to a “more aggressive Russia”, also referred to Trump’s motto “Peace through strength”.

Rutte praised Trump for his work during his first term to persuade alliance countries to increase defense spending.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had no information about whether Putin plans to congratulate Trump, but stressed that Moscow views the United States as an “unfriendly” country.

Peskov reiterated the Kremlin’s claim that U.S. support for Ukraine amounts to its participation in the conflict, telling reporters: “Let’s not forget that we are talking about an unfriendly country that is directly and indirectly involved in a war against our state.”

However, he noted Trump’s promise to quickly end the war once elected.

“The United States can help end the conflict,” Peskov said, adding that “this definitely cannot be done overnight.”

This was reported by Konovalov from the Kharkov region. Associated Press journalists Lorne Cook in Brussels; Hanna Argirova, Ilya Novikov and Vladimir Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine; Danica Kirka in London; and Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.