Date: 2025-01-08 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00027823
UKRAINE
MANY QUESTIONS ... NO ANSWERS!
As U.S. elections loom, Ukrainian officials are ready for Trump.
Amid the sense that the status quo isn’t working, officials privately
say they are prepared for a new approach by the U.S. administration.
MANY QUESTIONS ... NO ANSWERS!
As U.S. elections loom, Ukrainian officials are ready for Trump.
Amid the sense that the status quo isn’t working, officials privately
say they are prepared for a new approach by the U.S. administration.
President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
in New York in 2019. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Original article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/11/01/ukraine-election-trump-harris-zelensky/
Peter Burgess COMMENTARY
Mostly, I am a big supporter of Biden and the major initiatives that Biden has enabled during his term in office.
But I am less enthusiastic related to his suuport fot Ukraine in their just war against Putin's Russia
I am also very disappointed that the USA has beem far too supportive of israel and not supportive enough of the Palestinians.
The Middle East has been compicated as long as I can remember ... but in recent years it seems that all logic has been discarded and it isd only the power dimension of Israeli politics that is being takne into account. This will not work ... not in the short term and certainly not in the long term. There is a beter solution!
Peter Burgess
Amid the sense that the status quo isn’t working, officials privately say they are prepared for a new approach by the U.S. administration.
November 1, 2024
Written by Isabelle Khurshudyan ... Isabelle Khurshudyan is a foreign correspondent based in Kyiv. A University of South Carolina graduate, she has worked at The Washington Post since 2014, previously as a correspondent in the Moscow bureau and as a sports reporter covering the Washington Capitals.follow on X@ikhurshudyan
KYIV — Ahead of a U.S. presidential election that is expected to have major implications for Ukraine — especially in terms of the vital U.S. security assistance — a number of Ukrainian officials are suggesting that maybe a drastic change would be good.
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The official stance is of course that Kyiv will work with whomever Americans choose, toeing the principled diplomatic line of not meddling in an ally’s internal affairs. But behind closed doors, some in President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government see an upside in a Donald Trump victory, despite the Republican nominee’s repeated criticism of U.S. spending to support Ukraine and advocating a quick end to the war that could be to Russia’s advantage.
Vice President Kamala Harris would probably maintain the status quo if elected, and while Ukrainians have expressed gratitude for U.S. military support, they have also complained that this White House is too cautious and too slow in its decisions to avoid escalation with Russia. With Russia advancing on the battlefield for the past year and occupying more Ukrainian land, officials in Kyiv are increasingly lamenting that the status quo isn’t working and their requests for stronger weapons and looser restrictions on their use have been rebuffed.
Trump and Zelensky have had a tense relationship dating back to 2019, when Trump, as president, withheld military aid to Ukraine in an alleged effort to pressure Zelensky to dig up dirt about the business dealings in Ukraine of Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden. That effort led to the impeachment of Trump in the U.S. House on charges that he abused his office and obstructed Congress. (He was acquitted by the Senate.)
Ukrainian officials reject the notion that a Trump victory would be disastrous for Kyiv and that they are dreading the possibility. Within Zelensky’s office, there’s an optimism that the Ukrainian leader could sway Trump if the two forged a personal bond.
“Naturally, [Zelensky’s administration] relates more to Trump,” said a Ukrainian official who served in Zelensky’s government during Trump’s presidency. Like others in this article, the person spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter.
Zelensky always saw similarities between himself and Trump, the official said, which the Ukrainian president believed would help them build a good relationship. Both rose to power with atypical backgrounds outside of the political system, with Trump hailing from the business world while Zelensky was an actor and comedian.
Zelensky and his team “like simple solutions,” the official said. “And Trump is the guy of simple solutions.”
Trump has repeatedly said he would help Ukraine and Russia negotiate a rapid deal to end the war if he wins the election, but he has not offered specific details. His running mate, JD Vance, whom many Ukrainian officials view with suspicion, has talked about a peace plan that would freeze current battle lines, leaving large parts of the country in Russian hands.
In an interview with Nordic journalists on Wednesday, Zelensky appeared to address Trump’s talk of a swift solution, saying: “We are also on the side of quick decision of peace, but we should not have to pay for this. We are not aggressors. Russia is the aggressor; they should pay.”
Zelensky talks with Adm. Rob Bauer, chair of the NATO Military Committee, in Brussels on Oct. 17. (Olivier Matthys/Pool/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock) Trump called Zelensky “one of the greatest salesmen I’ve ever seen,” in terms of receiving aid from the United States. But Trump seemed to put the blame for the conflict on the Ukrainian leader, saying he “should never have let that war start.”
Trump also said Russia’s invasion would have never happened if he were still president, and he has repeatedly expressed admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling some of his strategic decisions “savvy” and “genius.”
In his Wednesday interview, Zelensky noted that the American people have consistently supported the Ukrainian position “because they understand we are defending our common values.” He added that if U.S. support declined, “we will count on ourselves and unity in Europe and the public opinion in America.”
Two other Ukrainian officials said that while Trump’s messaging on Ukraine has been negative, they believe that it is just campaign rhetoric and would not necessarily correlate with his actions in office.
Ukrainian officials often point to Trump’s record on Ukraine during his term as president, which included providing Kyiv with the first lethal weapons in 2019. Though Trump has praised Putin, his administration was considered hawkish in Moscow and pushed through new rounds of Russian sanctions.
Some Ukrainian officials acknowledged, however, that there is higher potential for a downside, and they are concerned that Trump would push for Ukraine to make territorial concessions to Russia in negotiations, which Zelensky’s administration has adamantly opposed.
There is a sense, though, among Zelensky’s people, that Trump would be wary of appearing weak on the world stage and might take more decisive action to support Ukraine as a result.
Another senior Ukrainian official recalled that inside the presidential office last year, ahead of a Ukraine peace summit in Saudi Arabia that many countries did not bother participating in, Zelensky’s deputies lamented that “if Trump were president, everything would be different” because “he would’ve forced more countries to attend.”
Trump and Zelensky met for the first time since the invasion in September, a hastily arranged gathering in New York that lasted less than an hour. Trump said it was an “honor” to meet with Zelensky, but their brief appearance in front of assembled journalists illustrated awkwardness in navigating around Trump’s stated views of the conflict.
Before the meeting with Zelensky began, Trump said that he had a “very good relationship” with the Ukrainian president and that he also has a “very good relationship” with Putin. Zelensky interjected: “I hope we have more good relations.”
At their meeting, Trump praised Zelensky for staying silent about the whole issue of the phone call that sparked the impeachment trial, quelling concerns by Ukrainian officials that the former president could still be holding a grudge.
“He could have grandstanded and played cute, but he didn’t do that,” Trump said. “He was like a piece of steel; he said President Trump did nothing wrong.”
With Ukraine’s future potentially hinging on these U.S. elections, Ukrainians are “in an anticipatory position,” said Anton Grushetsky, the director of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, which has been polling people’s attitudes. He hasn’t noted any real preference in the candidates.
“There is a certain fear, there is always a fear of change,” Grushetsky said.
“You have the Biden-Harris administration, and people can predict their actions. But there’s also a certain feeling of frustration,” he added. “You have strong words, but people are upset that they aren’t followed by strong actions.”
Anastacia Galouchka contributed to this report.
By Isabelle Khurshudyan ... Isabelle Khurshudyan is a foreign correspondent based in Kyiv. A University of South Carolina graduate, she has worked at The Washington Post since 2014, previously as a correspondent in the Moscow bureau and as a sports reporter covering the Washington Capitals.follow on X@ikhurshudyan