By Anastasia Malenko
KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine on Wednesday appealed to Donald Trump’s image as a tough leader in hopes of persuading the returning U.S. president not to abandon his cause in pursuit of peace with Russia.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Trump, who criticized the extent of US military and financial support for kyiv and promised to quickly end the war with Russia, without saying how.
In a message posted shortly after Trump claimed victory, Zelenskiy said he looked forward to an “era of a strong United States of America under the decisive leadership of President Trump.”
“I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach to global affairs,” Zelenskiy wrote. “This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace closer to Ukraine. I hope that we will implement it together.”
The Ukrainian president later said, in a post on X, that he had called Trump to congratulate him and pledged to work together with him.
“We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation,” Zelenskiy wrote. “Strong and unwavering American leadership is vital to the world and to a just peace.”
Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris raises questions about future US support, which has been key to Ukraine’s survival in the face of a much larger and better-equipped enemy.
Another harsh winter looms, as Russian forces have been advancing at the fastest pace since Ukraine first repulsed their invasion outside kyiv in early 2022. Ukraine, for its part, has launched its first major incursion into Russian territory.
Any new attempt to end the war will likely involve peace talks of some kind, which have not been held since the first months of the war.
Moscow’s forces occupy about a fifth of Ukraine. Russia says the war cannot end until the annexations it claims are recognized. kyiv demands the return of all its territory, a position that has been largely supported by Western allies under the outgoing US administration of Joe Biden.
PEACE WITH ‘CERTAIN CONCESSIONS’
Ukrainian political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko said Trump would likely push for quick talks to end the war, which could involve “certain concessions” to Russia. But he said he hoped Washington was unlikely to capitulate to Moscow’s demands.
“I don’t think Trump will accept peace on Russia’s terms alone, as this would look like a defeat for the United States, and his advisors understand that,” he said.
Ukraine’s international sovereign bonds rose nearly 2 cents in early European trading on Wednesday, with investors saying the market was anticipating a quicker end to the war now that Trump had won.
As Ukraine’s main military backer, the United States has shipped tens of billions of dollars in weapons and led international efforts to isolate Moscow diplomatically and through financial sanctions.
But Ukraine has also expressed frustration over delays in approving missiles, tanks, planes and other weapons by the Biden administration, whose fear of escalation led to a piecemeal approach that critics say gave Moscow time. to recover from the first failures.
More recently, Ukraine has called on the West to lift restrictions on using missiles to strike deep into Russia, which kyiv says is necessary to disrupt long-range Russian strikes.
Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a lawmaker from the opposition Holos party, said on Telegram that the transition until Trump takes office in January could be “a window of opportunity” for Biden to take “bold steps.”
Lawmaker Oleksandra Ustinova, who heads the parliamentary commission on arms and ammunition, said Trump’s picks for top diplomatic, security and defense posts would be key in determining the Trump administration’s impact on the war.
“These are the people who will decide the fate of Ukraine,” Ustinova told Reuters. “Right now, Mike Pompeo is very likely to be Secretary of Defense, and he is a great friend of Ukraine.”
“Of course, everyone worries when any change occurs. On the other hand, we understand that it was an expected result and we have always worked with both parties,” he added.
Residents of kyiv, which suffers regular drone and missile attacks by Russian forces and faces a winter of energy shortages, were eager to hear how Trump would stop the war.
“I guess we are all waiting for the one thing: to stop the war, and since Trump promised to stop the war in just one day, we are all waiting for it,” said Oleksii Iarokha, 41.
“It could be today, tomorrow, we can wait until Friday. You are the president, please do it, Mr. Trump.”
Others pondered how Trump’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom the Republican has avoided harshly criticizing, could affect new U.S. policy toward Ukraine.
“On the one hand, you would think that it would somehow influence” Putin, said Iryna Dvirna, 21. “On the other hand, they say they have very close ties and maybe Trump won’t put as much pressure on Putin to change anything.”