When the president Volodymyr Zelensky from Ukraine recently left for the United States on a diplomatic mission with a lot at stake, he had one goal above all others: rekindle a sense of urgency regarding the fate of kyiv as the war with Russia is heading into what promises to be another brutal winter.
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But after a whirlwind week capped by a meeting with former President Donald J. Trump on September 27 in New York, Zelensky returned to kyiv with “more questions than answers about the near future” of the Ukrainian war effortsaid Mikhail Minakov, director of the Ukraine research program at the Kennan Institute in Washington.
The only thing that seemed clear was that Ukraine’s prospects were now firmly immersed in the maelstrom of American presidential campaign. Despite having worked diligently to avoid becoming embroiled in partisan politics—citing the importance of cross-party solidarity in nearly all of his public statements—Zelensky found himself caught in the hostile gaze of Trump and his supporters.
Republicans called for an investigation into his trip to a munitions factory in Pennsylvania; Mike Johnson, speaker of the US House of Representatives, said kyiv should fire its US ambassador for organizing the visit; and Trump gave speeches reviling Zelensky, distorting facts about the war and echoing Kremlin arguments.
“Ukraine is gone,” Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, said at a campaign event in North Carolina. “It’s not Ukraine anymore.”
“Any agreement, even the worst, would have been better than the one we have now,” he said.
The meeting of Trump and Zelensky, which lasted about an hour, was an effort to maintain bipartisan relations. But it did little to ease concerns in Ukraine that a Trump presidency could lead to a dramatic shift in American policy.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for the White House, reaffirmed her support for Ukraine after a meeting with Zelensky on September 26.
In a dig at Trump, he said those who would “force Ukraine to give up large portions of its sovereign territory” are doing the Kremlin’s bidding by pushing a policy of “surrender.”
Concern about Trump overshadowed Ukraine’s frustration with the Biden administration, which kyiv believes has been too cautious in its support.
During his trip, Zelensky received promises of military aid that should help Ukraine fight through the winter, regardless of who wins the November election. President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s commitment to provide $8 billion in weapons—including gliding bombs, air defense missiles and an additional Patriot battery—is a desperately needed boost.
Oleksandr, a senior commander of the 68th Jaeger Brigade who asked that only his name be used in accordance with military protocol, said that regardless of what politicians in Washington decide, he will not stop fighting.
“Even if we don’t receive supplies, I can say with confidence that for me and my subordinates, 99 percent of us will continue fighting,” he said.
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