Donald Trump claimed victory in the U.S. presidential elections on Nov. 6, bringing additional uncertainty for many Ukrainian soldiers who already struggle to see the future of the war.
Though doubt looms over Trump's moves in the coming months, his warm relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his September claim that Ukraine was "demolished" and its people "dead" have left Kyiv worried.
In his victory speech in Florida, Republican party leader Trump did not directly mention the war in Ukraine but reminded the cheering crowd that the U.S. saw "no wars" during his first presidential term from 2017 to 2021 before Joe Biden, the Democratic party's outgoing president, succeeded him.
"I’m not going to start wars, I’m going to stop wars," Trump proclaimed as U.S. media outlets began reporting the Republican candidate's projected victory.
On Sept. 10, in his only debate with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party's nominee, Trump refused to say he wanted a Ukrainian victory.
Trump’s sweep triumph comes as Russian troops continue to gain ground in a grinding offensive across multiple axes on the front line, forcing the outmanned and outgunned Ukrainians to withdraw little by little. Moscow’s latest triumph has been in the southern part of Donetsk Oblast, where its troops captured Vuhledar in October – a town that has been a Ukrainian fortress for over two years.
Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, acknowledged on Nov. 2 that Russia is waging one of its "most powerful" offensives since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russia captured about 1,150 square kilometers of land (nearly the size of Los Angeles) during the August-October period, "about a quarter more than in the first seven months of the year," Bloomberg reported, citing its calculations based on the crowd-sourced open intelligence DeepState map service.
Francis Farrell
"I don't believe in the miracle of Trump's ability to scare Putin," said Yurii, a 52-year-old soldier deployed in southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
"There could be a disaster if he makes some strange decision, as he has already done – for example, statements about leaving NATO, etc."
The Kyiv Independent asked six Ukrainian servicemen for their reaction to Trump's victory.
Serhii Koniukh
A 44-year-old anesthetist deployed in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast
Trump's victory is, first of all, the choice of the country itself, the United States of America.
It's a pity that such a large European country like Ukraine is watching and dependent on how other countries’ elections turn out. The whole of Ukraine waited for these elections as if they were its own.
What about the future of Ukraine? Well, you understand, all this was some kind of pre-election talk between two different candidates. And it's clear that the Democrats supported us more. There was military support, which will be uncertain now (going forward).
But, I want to say that you have to rely on yourself first, not on someone else, not on your older brother, not on your friends, but on yourself. I've always said that in everything, in work, business, everyday life, rely only on yourself.
That's why this has sobered us up, but it should sober up our government and all of our people for us to unite and communicate with each other. And we have our own goal. We are not participants in these elections and are just observers. And we have our own president, who has to now take the lead of our entire country, not be dependent on some elections.
"Spys"
A 35-year-old, junior lieutenant, artilleryman, fighting in Kursk Oblast
Commenting on Trump's quote that he can end the war in a day, I can say this: Do I want the war to end? Every soldier in the Armed Forces and every civilian apparently wants it to end. But if the war ends at this stage, in 10-20 years it will start again? Yes, It will start again.
I think (freezing the war) will be a defeat for Ukraine and all its allies. Then, it will turn into another low intensity conflict, and after a while, when Russia gains strength, it will go to war again.
Do I want the missiles to stop flying? Yes, I do! Do I want to go home, because I've been here for almost three years here and a year before the full-scale war — yes, I do! Do I want the war to start again sometime later? I don't!
“Bart”
A sniper with Special Operation Forces undergoing rehabilitation in Kyiv after a deployment in northeastern Kharkiv Oblast
I think this is America's business.
I don't think that with the election of Trump, support for Ukrainians will stop. I think that, on the contrary, there will be more decisive actions.
For example, permission to strike at Russian territory with ATACMS or some real reaction to the deployment of the guys from North Korea.
I believe that Biden and his administration are impotent.
And by the way, the first Javelins started coming to us from Trump, if you remember. With Biden, America has become not a superpower but a mere tolerator. Maybe I'm just an optimist.
Andrea Januta
Myroslav Hai
An officer in the Ukrainian army
First, we congratulate the American people because their elections are an important event for the whole world, not only the United States.
It doesn't matter who the president is because we have the support of the American people, so any administration will support us, too.
Many Ukrainians live in the United States. It's a very big diaspora. They're involved in U.S. politics. And they help us.
Our country is in a difficult situation now, but we look to the future optimistically. We don't want to stop our fight. We will fight for our democracy and our independence.
I think the American people will help us win this battle for democracy and independence.
Let's try to analyze the facts. Trump was the president who destroyed the big Russian airbase in Syria. I remember the Trump administration was the first to give us Javelins. And this opened the door to more weapons from our Western partners. After this, there were Abrams and F-16s, but first were Javelins, which were important to us.
I remember a story when Trump was president when U.S. special forces destroyed a group of Wagner fighters.
It means that Trump before was very aggressive politically and had his struggles with Putin and the Russians.
So, I don't understand why some people and some journalists raise the alarm and say things will be bad when Trump is president.
I think it's the business of the American people first, and I think if he is strong with the Russians like he was before, everything will be OK.
I don't think that he likes Putin. Maybe he likes him like a boxing opponent, but we don't really know what he likes. We will see what he will do.
I don't believe politicians when they say they'll do something. I believe them when they actually do something.
Oleksii
A medic with 17th Kryvyi Rih Tank Brigade
I don’t trust our politicians because they do some surprising things. It's double the same with Trump. I want everything to end with a victory, not with concessions.
"Apostle"
A commander in the Ukrainian army
We don’t care, we need our victory!
The Kyiv Independent
