As the US president-elect forms his future administration, Ukraine remains particularly attentive. On Tuesday, November 12, the 47th President of the United States announced the forthcoming appointment of Florida Congressman Mike Waltz to the highly strategic post of White House National Security Adviser. This "expert on the threats posed by China, Russia, Iran and global terrorism," according to Trump, aligns with the new president-elect's promise to quickly resolve the war between Kyiv and Moscow.
"We are facing a new reality that brings new challenges and opportunities for Ukraine," said Alexander Khara, an international relations specialist at the Centre for Defence Strategies, a Kyiv-based think tank. "That's why the primary objective of the Ukrainian government, experts and civil society is to draw up a new strategy, to determine how to approach the new administration."
Trump's victory on November 5 threw Ukraine into the unknown overnight. During his campaign, the Republican candidate repeatedly pledged that he would end the war "in 24 hours," even if it meant pressuring his future Ukrainian counterpart to return to the negotiating table by threatening to suspend aid. It is not yet clear exactly how the president-elect intends to proceed. But Kyiv's allies fear they could include territorial concessions to Russia (which occupies around 20% of its territory) and an abandonment of its aspirations to join NATO.
For the moment, there are no signs that Ukraine is preparing to move in the direction of such negotiations. "If the situation develops positively from the point of view of the possibility of negotiating, it goes without saying that we won't turn away," explained Bohdan Iaremenko, a Presidential Party MP and former head of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee. "But so far, the only perspective we see is to keep fighting in order to start negotiations at some point in the future. We have to fight for peace, not ask for peace," said the MP.
You have 57.44% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.