Trump's victory is not worst case scenario for Ukraine: Political analyst's explanation
Donald Trump (Getty Images)
Republican Party candidate Donald Trump has won the US presidential election during a challenging time. However, his victory may not be the worst scenario for Ukraine, according to Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Penta Center for Applied Political Studies, for RBC-Ukraine.
"It would have been much worse if the US had plunged into a political crisis. That would be a major risk for the entire world and international security, as well as an opportunity for Putin and China, not to mention Iran and North Korea. We could have lost American assistance for an indefinite period," Fesenko explained.
Considering this, Fesenko believes Trump’s victory is not the worst-case scenario. He further explained that a win by Kamala Harris, coupled with the Republican Party gaining a Senate majority and approaching success in the House of Representatives, would indeed be a troubling outcome.
"In such a case, last year’s situation would have repeated itself. And once again, we could have lost support temporarily," said the political analyst.
Regarding support, Fesenko suggested that Trump is likely to push for a shift in format.
"There’s a high probability that financial and budgetary assistance will stop. This is not only Trump’s stance but also that of many Republicans. Trump counts the money, and there will be no free aid. Military support will come only in the form of loans or lend-lease. Financial matters will be addressed by the new Congress. It's uncertain if they’ll act quickly, but we may hear new ideas and proposals around early December," Fesenko added.
At the same time, the political expert stressed that aid to Ukraine will become a point of leverage in Trump’s policy.
"If we do not agree to Trump’s proposals, military aid could be halted. Therefore, we’ll likely agree to negotiations, with separate tactics in place for the US and Russia," he said.
US presidential election
The US presidential election took place yesterday, on November 5. Kamala Harris of the Democratic Party and Donald Trump of the Republican Party vied for the presidency. However, preliminary results indicate that Trump won by a significant margin.
European politicians have already congratulated Trump on his victory, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. More on political reactions to the Republican’s victory can be found in RBC-Ukraine's coverage.
We have also prepared a summary of the overall US election results.
