US Presidential Election and War in Ukraine: Donald Trump or Kamala Harris ? Zelensky evokes a “risky” vote for kyiv

The Ukrainian president acknowledged that the uncertainty over the election of Kamala Harris or Donald Trump in the US presidential election posed a “risk” for Ukraine, which is counting on continued US military support to confront Russia.

“We can't influence any election, but of course the United States is a challenge today. And there are risks that none of us can predict,”, Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview Tuesday with several French media outlets, including AFP.

A key ally of Ukraine, the United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in military and economic aid to Kiev to deal with the Russian invasion, all under the leadership of Democratic President Joe Biden, a policy that his vice president, Kamala Harris, is expected to continue if she is elected to the White House in November.

While the Republican camp has just as strongly supported kyiv in 2022 and part of 2023, a group of convinced supporters of Donald Trump has blocked aid to Ukraine for months in late 2023 and early 2024.

A majority in support of Ukraine in Congress ?

In Kiev and in Europe, many fear that this vital assistance could be called into question by the Republican Donald Trump who has, on several occasions, affirmed without further details that he will force the two camps to a negotiated solution. He also chose J.D. Vance, a staunch opponent of support for Ukraine, as his vice president.

“As president of Ukraine, I need to have a dialogue between my team and the team of (Joe) Biden, Trump and now Harris, we need to have these contacts to discuss what the future could be if one side or another wins the election,”, the Ukrainian president summarized.

However, Mr. Zelensky said he was certain that there would always be “a majority when it comes to support for Ukraine”.

“This majority will weigh on the (American) Congress, because they are the representatives of the public, so I believe that we will keep a majority in the Congress when it comes to support for Ukraine”, he said.