A Ukrainian soldier in the back of a vehicle on the way to the front in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine.
Fermin Torrano/Anadolu via Getty Images
Ukrainian soldiers told BI of their hopes, fears, and uncertainty over what Trump’s victory means.Trump’s election win could have a huge impact on the war in Ukraine.Some in Ukraine described a sense of cautious optimism.
Ukrainian soldiers holding back Russia’s invasion woke up to an uncertain future after Donald Trump’s presidential election victory on Wednesday.
They told Business Insider about their hopes and fears following Trump’s reelection, which could lead to Ukraine losing its biggest backer, hand Russia a major battlefield boost, and possibly put pressure on Ukraine to give up territory in exchange for a Trump-backed peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But some also expressed cautious optimism about what a Trump return to the White House could mean for a war that has dragged on for nearly three years.
A new uncertainty
Soldiers and veterans of the war are keenly aware of Trump’s previous statements that suggested he could cut aid to Ukraine and try to push it into a peace deal with Russia.
Asked whether Ukraine could defend itself effectively if Trump reduced US aid, Oleh Holubenko, a captain in Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces, told BI: “Yes, we can. The question is only the ‘price.'”
“We are paying with our lives,” he added.
In Kyiv, there is a “new anxiety and uncertainty” about Trump’s next moves, Dan Rice, a former US Army artillery officer who served as a special advisor to Ukraine’s military leadership, told BI.
Donald Trump raises his fist as he leaves the stage at an election night event in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post
“I believe a strong statement from the new administration supporting Ukraine would help the situation here in Ukraine immediately,” Rice said from the Ukrainian capital, where he is now the president of American University Kyiv.
Any loss of US funding would be keenly felt in Ukraine.
Europe as a whole has given more aid to Ukraine, but the US has been the single largest contributor to its war efforts.
“Trump is absolutely unpredictable in his ideas about the war,” Holubenko told BI, pointing to his last administration’s provision of lethal aid to Ukraine, but also his interactions with Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
He also said he thought Trump would be less tolerant of Kim and Putin’s recent aggression in Ukraine.
In the election campaign, Trump didn’t offer a detailed plan for what he would do about US aid to Ukraine.
But Trump has criticized the US’ support so far, despite much of that money ultimately going to US arms manufacturers.
Vice President-elect JD Vance has also criticized US support for Ukraine, and said: “I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another.”
Republicans in Congress have previously blocked aid for Ukraine.
A Ukrainian soldier prepares 155mm artillery rounds in a trench.
Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Trump may decide not to cut aid, and the uncertainty means some of those who have fought in the war are unwilling to speculate on what will happen now.
Vitaliy Kryukov, a former loitering-munition commander out of action due to injury, said that “at the moment, I think there is no sense in talking about hypothetical scenarios.”
Hope in the face of change
Despite uncertainty about the incoming administration, Ukrainian soldiers also criticized the piecemeal aid delivered by President Joe Biden’s White House.
Oleksandr Pleskov, a soldier, said on Election Day that a Vice President Kamala Harris victory would only result in the continuation of Biden’s policies, which he characterized as: “Here’s a little help for you.”
“And that help is not enough,” he added.
Pleskov said he expected “more resolute actions” in supporting Ukraine from a Trump presidency.
Olga Bigar, a Ukrainian officer, also had some optimism about Trump: “I really like his determination and steadfastness in making decisions,” she told BI.
Bigar said she was aware of Trump’s past with Putin, but said she put her trust in the idea that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could dissuade Trump from “Russian propaganda.”
“I do not think that Donald Trump is a person who wants to go down in world history as the one who made concessions to the dictator of a third-world country,” she added.
A Ukrainian soldier looks out from the driver’s hatch of an M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle.
Vitalii Nosach/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
In the past, Trump has said he could strike a deal and end the war in a day, hinting that it could involve giving some Ukrainian territory to Russia, something Ukraine says is unacceptable.
Former US Army officer Rice told BI that there is some optimism in Kyiv “because President Trump has stated he will end the war quickly.” But others were skeptical.
Speaking to the Kyiv Independent, Yurii, a Ukrainian soldier, said, “I don’t believe in the miracle of Trump’s ability to scare Putin.”
Pleskov was also skeptical: “No one believes that he will be able to have an impact on Putin.”
A war for the West — even if Trump doesn’t think so
Holubenko, the Ukrainian captain, described the conflict as “a war for democratic values.”
If Putin and Kim are not stopped in Ukraine, they will move on to other countries, he argued.
Bogdan Zelenyi, a Ukrainian veteran who was injured in the fighting, said that continued US support doesn’t just help Ukraine, it helps to “keep the UN principles-based world order, as well as the security of the Euro-Atlantic community itself.”
A US veteran fighting in Ukraine, who goes by the call sign Jackie, told BI that helping Ukraine continues to be in the US’ best interest.
“I hope the new administration recognizes the strength and cunning of the Ukrainian spirit, and considers their usefulness in maintaining security in this part of the globe,” he said.
For now, however, Ukraine and those fighting there will have to wait to see what Trump ultimately decides to do.
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