Facing uncertain fate under Trump, Ukraine appeals to his 'strength'

KYIV - Ukraine appealed to Donald Trump's image as a tough leader on Wednesday in the hope of persuading the returning U.S. president not to abandon its cause in pursuit of peace with Russia.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was among the first world leaders to congratulate Trump, who has criticised the scale of U.S. military and financial support for Kyiv and vowed to end the war with Russia quickly, without saying how.

In a message released shortly after Trump claimed victory, Zelenskiy said he looked forward to an "era of a strong United States of America under President Trump's decisive leadership".

"I appreciate President Trump's commitment to the 'peace through strength' approach in global affairs," Zelenskiy wrote. "This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer. I am hopeful that we will put it into action together."

The Ukrainian president later said, in a post on X, that he had called Trump to congratulate him and pledged to work together with him.

"We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation," Zelenskiy wrote. "Strong and unwavering U.S. leadership is vital for the world and for a just peace."

Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris raises questions over future U.S. support, which has been key to Ukraine's survival against a much larger and better equipped enemy.

Another tough winter looms as Russian forces have been advancing at the fastest rate since Ukraine first repulsed their invasion at the outskirts of Kyiv in early 2022. Ukraine, for its part, has launched its first major incursion into Russian territory.

Any fresh attempt to end the war is likely to involve peace talks of some kind, which have not been held since the early months of the war.

Moscow's forces occupy around a fifth of Ukraine. Russia says the war cannot end until its claimed annexations are recognised. Kyiv demands all of its territory back, a position that has largely been supported by Western allies under the outgoing U.S. administration of Joe Biden.

PEACE WITH 'CERTAIN CONCESSIONS'

Ukrainian political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko said Trump would likely push for swift talks to end the war, which could involve "certain concessions" to Russia. But he said he expected Washington would be unlikely to capitulate to Moscow's demands.

"I don't think that Trump would agree to peace only on Russia's terms, as this would look like a defeat for the U.S., and his advisers understand this," he said.

Ukraine's international sovereign bonds rallied nearly 2 cents in early European trading on Wednesday, with investors saying the market was anticipating a quicker end to the war now that Trump had won.

As Ukraine's top military backer, the U.S. has sent tens of billions of dollars in arms, and led international efforts to isolate Moscow diplomatically and through financial sanctions.

But Ukraine has also expressed frustration at delays in approving missiles, tanks, planes and other weapons by the Biden administration, whose fear of escalation led to a piecemeal approach that critics say gave Moscow time to recover from early failures.

Most recently, Ukraine has called on the West to lift restrictions on using missiles to attack deep into Russia, which Kyiv says is necessary to disrupt long-range Russian attacks.

Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a lawmaker from the opposition Holos party, said on Telegram that the transition until Trump takes office in January could be "a window of opportunity" for Biden to take "bold steps".

Lawmaker Oleksandra Ustinova, who heads the parliamentary commission on arms and munitions, said Trump's picks for the top diplomatic, security and defence jobs would be key in determining the Trump administration's impact on the war.

"These are the people who will decide the fate of Ukraine," Ustinova told Reuters. "Right now, it is highly likely that Mike Pompeo will be the defence secretary, and he is a great friend of Ukraine."

"Of course, everyone is worried when any change happens. On the other hand, we understand that this was an expected outcome and we have always worked with both parties," she added.

Residents of Kyiv, which comes under regular drone and missile attack from Russian forces and faces a winter of power shortages, were eager to hear how Trump would stop the war.

"I guess we are all waiting for just the only thing — just to stop the war, and as Trump promised to stop the war in just one day, we are all waiting for it," said Oleksii Iarokha, 41.

"It could be today, tomorrow, we can wait till Friday. You are the president, please do it, Mr Trump."

Others pondered how Trump's relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom the Republican has avoided sharply criticising, might affect new U.S. policy on Ukraine.

"On the one hand, one might think that he would somehow influence" Putin, said Iryna Dvirna, 21. "On the other hand, they say that they have very close ties, and perhaps Trump will not put so much pressure on Putin to change anything."

(Reporting by Yurii Kovalenko, Anastasiia Malenko and Max Hunder; Writing by Tom Balmforth and Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Mike Collett-White, Peter Graff, Ron Popeski and Lincoln Feast.)