On the Ukrainian front and in Kiev, hope and pragmatism compete when it comes to Trump’s election

Kiev, Ukraine (AP) – Soldiers in a Ukrainian artillery battery on the front lines in the east of the country were only vaguely aware of the US election results that pointed to Donald Trump’s victory on Wednesday – but had resolute hopes for the next president of the United States.

Their entrenched artillery battery fires at Russian forces every day – and comes under fire almost as often. Recently, one of their top nets captured a Russian drone.

“I hope that the quantity of weapons, the quantity of weapons for our victory, will increase,” the 39-year-old commander of the unit, who goes by the name Mozart, said in the hours before. Trump’s victory was confirmed. “We don’t care who the president is as long as they don’t cut us off from help because we need it.”

Despite Trump’s election makes you doubt American support for Ukraine – and ultimately whether Kiev can beat back Russia’s invasion – heard sparingly from soldiers using their Starlink connection to the internet the results from Associated Press journalists.

Mozart — who withheld his name from other soldiers on Wednesday in accordance with Ukrainian military protocol and who has given musical names to battlefield positions — is one of many Ukrainians hoping Trump will maintain U.S. support for their country. Russian forces have recently made gains in the east, although the commander described the frontline situation as “static.”

It was under Trump that the United States first sent weapons to Ukraine in 2017 in its fight against Russia. Those Javelin anti-tank missiles were crucial to Ukraine’s ability to repel the full-scale invasion in 2022. But Trump is generally wary of American involvement in foreign conflicts.

Trump, who has touted his good relationship with President Vladimir Putin and called the Russian leader “pretty smart” over his invasion of Ukraine, has repeatedly criticized U.S. support for Ukraine. He characterized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “the biggest salesman on earth” for obtaining American aid.

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

“I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach to global affairs. This is precisely the principle that can practically bring a just peace in Ukraine closer. I am hopeful that we will put it into practice together,” he further wrote in a message on the social platform X.

Trump has repeatedly said that he is a… peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia concluded within a day if he is elected, although he has not said how. He did this twice during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris refused to answer immediately a question about whether he wanted Ukraine to win, raising concerns that Kiev would be forced to accept unfavorable terms in any negotiations he oversaw.

In Kiev, which is attacked by Russian drones almost daily, 18-year-old Viktoriia Zubrytska was pragmatic about her expectations for the next American president. She believes Ukraine will be forced to give up territory in exchange for peace under Trump’s presidency. But she said she chose that over what she called the false hope offered by the Biden administration.

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

According to VoteCast, 74% of voters who supported Harris supported continuing aid to Ukraine, while only 36% of Trump voters did so. 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 Kharkiv region, Andriy, known as “Rodych” or “Relative,” resigned to not having the power to influence the American vote.

“We’ll figure something out” no matter what, 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 for them it’s far away.”

America’s NATO allies also kept a close eye on the elections. France and Germany called a last-minute defense meeting in Paris on Wednesday to discuss the results, and Ukraine is likely to be at the center of the meeting. The two leading powers in the European Union are providing significant support to Ukraine to defend it against the Russian war.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, referring to a ‘more aggressive Russia’, also invoked Trump’s motto of ‘peace through strength’.

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

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had no information on whether Putin plans to congratulate Trump, but stressed that Moscow considers the US an “unfriendly” country.

Peskov confirmed the Kremlin’s claim that US support for Ukraine amounted to its involvement in the conflict, telling reporters: “Let us not forget that we are talking about the unfriendly country that is both directly and indirectly involved in a war against our state.”

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

“The US can help end the conflict,” Peskov said, adding that “it certainly cannot be done overnight.”

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Konovalov reported from the Kharkov region. Associated Press journalists Lorne Cook in Brussels; Hanna Arhirova, Illia Novikov and Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kiev, Ukraine; Danica Kirka in London; and Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.

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