Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met at Trump Tower in New York City, the United States, on September 27, 2024.
Shannon Stapleton | Reuters
Ukraine congratulated Donald Trump on Wednesday morning when he appeared on the verge of winning the US election, putting on a brave face over a possible Republican victory that was seen as a bad outcome for Kyiv’s military aid and potential territorial integrity.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was among the first leaders to congratulate Trump, who declared victory in the presidential election early Wednesday as he led Kamala Harry in the projected electoral votes Sri Lanka. NBC News has yet to predict the outcome of the presidential race.
Post on XZelensky praised Trump’s “impressive election victory” and said he was optimistic that Trump and the former US president, who has threatened to quickly cut funding to Ukraine if re-elected, could work together to achieve peace in Ukraine.
“I admire President Trump’s commitment to ‘peace through strength’ in global affairs. This is the very principle that can truly promote a just peace in Ukraine. I hope we can take action together,” Zelensky commented.
Trump is currently just a few votes away from obtaining the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House, and the Republicans are likely to win a sweep and win control of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. This would make it easier for a Republican administration to block future military funding to Ukraine.
Trump also boasted that if elected he could “end the war” within 24 hours and suggested he would stop funding Ukraine to force a negotiated settlement with Russia. Analysts say Ukraine may be forced to make a “bad peace” with its powerful neighbor and may be forced to give up nearly 20% of its territory in the south and east currently occupied by Russian forces.
Ukraine relies heavily on international partners for military, financial and humanitarian aid to allow it to continue to function as a country and fight Russia after nearly three years of war. The U.S. election and the future of funding and support are seen as a make-or-break moment for Kyiv.
Zelensky said on Wednesday that Ukraine looked forward to “entering an era of a strong United States of America under President Trump’s decisive leadership” and that Kyiv “continues to receive strong bipartisan support for Ukraine from the United States.”
Ahead of the vote, a senior Ukrainian official told CNBC that the possibility of Republicans halting U.S. funding to Ukraine would be “extremely detrimental to Ukraine,” and that while Kyiv had “own views on different candidates,” it hoped to be able to rely on U.S. support. Until victory and a “just peace” are achieved.
Trump opposes more aid
On July 16, 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a joint press conference after their summit in Helsinki, Finland.
Chris McGrath | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Ahead of the Nov. 5 vote, the Trump administration and hard-line Republicans were widely expected to become more hostile to providing more funds to Ukraine. Trump’s running mate Vance has clearly opposed further aid to Kiev. He believes that the United States should encourage Kiev to reach a peace agreement with Russia and that Ukraine should be prepared to cede land to Moscow.
During a heated presidential debate with Democratic opponent Kamala Harris in September, Trump was asked multiple times whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war or whether a victory in Kyiv would be in the best interests of the United States.
He responded by insisting that he wanted the war to stop To save lives, he will seek to negotiate a deal with Russia. He did not say how the deal would be reached or whether Ukraine would cede the territory it occupies to Russia – a concession that Kyiv had previously refused to make.
Trump also claimed that if he had been in power in 2022, the war would not have broken out and that Russian President Vladimir Putin “would be sitting in Moscow and he would not have lost 300,000 men and women in the war.”
The exact number of war casualties is unknown. Neither Russia nor Ukraine has released such sensitive information, but U.S. intelligence agencies estimated last year that about 315,000 Russian troops – the vast majority of them men – Killed or wounded in war to that point in time.
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