Ukraine and its NATO neighbors nervously congratulated Donald Trump on his election this week, as the president-elect appears set to bring a dramatic reduction in support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia.
Trump spent his election campaign questioning the U.S. commitment to Ukraine, calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “one of the greatest salesmen” on Oct. 14 and blaming him for the war. Trump also hinted that he may push for a truce on terms unfavorable to Kyiv — saying back in June that he’d “have that settled” before even taking office early next year.
Trump will now choose his precise Ukraine policy from a competing set of adviser approaches, the Wall Street Journal reports, with all of them united by a sharp diversion from the Biden administration’s unwavering loyalty to the Ukrainians.
One of those policy paths, according to several people close to Trump, involves Ukraine promising not to join NATO for at least 20 years in exchange for continuous American military funding to deter any future Russian aggression. From there, the front line as it stands would become an 800-mile demilitarized zone, though it is unclear who would police such a zone.
“We can do training and other support but the barrel of the gun is going to be European. We are not sending American men and women to uphold peace in Ukraine," a Trump team member said. "And we are not paying for it. Get the Poles, Germans, British and French to do it.”
Reporting from POLITICO highlights the views taken this week by Ukrainian leaders like Oleksandr Merezhko, head of the foreign relations committee in Ukraine’s parliament — calling a Trump presidency “maybe difficult, challenging, but not necessarily bad” for the nation.
Leaders across Europe reacted in a similar manner of trepidation. Germany’s top diplomat made an unannounced visit to Kyiv Monday in an apparent show of European support on the eve of the consequential election.
Zelenskyy himself congratulated Trump on Wednesday, using the opportunity to emphasize his push for continued mutual support between Ukraine and NATO.
"Ukraine, as one of Europe's strongest military powers, is committed to ensuring long-term peace and security in Europe and the Transatlantic community with the support of our allies," Zelenskyy said. "I am looking forward to personally congratulating President Trump and discussing ways to strengthen Ukraine's strategic partnership with the United States."
Other Ukraine News This Week:
Ukrainian forces have directly engaged with North Korean troops for the first time, The New York Times reported. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov appeared on South Korean television network KBS on Thursday, saying they expected a “more significant number” of direct engagements in the coming weeks. Zelenskyy said the development has opened a “new page of instability in the world.
The U.S. estimates there are now 11,000 to 12,000 North Korean troops inside Russia with at least 10,000 in its Kursk Oblast region bordering Ukraine, Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a Pentagon press briefing on Monday. Ryder did not outline a specific shift in the direction or scale of American support based on these developments.
Zelenskyy and others have stepped up pressure on allies since the presence of North Korean troops was confirmed, according to Al Jazeera. “We see an increase in North Koreans, but we don’t see any increase in the reaction from our partners,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Tuesday.
Zelensky also called on the West to lift restrictions on long-range weapons to enable a preemptive Ukrainian strike on North Korean troops in Russia, according to Business Insider. Zelensky said last Friday that Ukraine can see “every site” where Russia has been accumulating North Korean troops on its territory and could reach them with a long-range strike, if given permission from its partners.
The Wall Street Journal said Monday that European security officials have linked Russian agents to a plot to smuggle explosives onto a cargo plane in Germany in a suspected “trial run” for future attacks targeting aircraft headed for the U.S. and Canada. The Journal described the development as part of an escalating Russian “sabotage campaign” against the U.S. and its allies.
From State Department Press Briefing on Nov. 4
Apart from several questions about the State Department and Pentagon’s aforementioned intelligence on North Korean troops in Russia, Ukraine was not addressed at this briefing.
