For Ukraine, a Trump victory could mean defeat

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) and Republican presidential nominee former US President Donald Trump, meeting on September 27, 2024 in New York City, NY, USA.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) and Republican presidential nominee former US President Donald Trump, meeting on September 27, 2024 in New York City, NY, USA.
Reuters

While Justin Trudeau is likely to be nervously watching the US election, the stakes will be considerably higher for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose country’s war against Russian invaders depends on sustained American military assistance.

The Financial Times reported this week that Trump plans to freeze the conflict along the current front line, keep Ukraine out of NATO, and have Europeans enforce the peace. He has previously said the war could be ended within 24 hours, without elaborating on how he’d accomplish this. The Ukrainians might not have much choice but to go along with a Trump plan, given their reliance on US aid, but the Russians have said halting the war might not be so easy.

Zelensky is no doubt hoping for a Harris victory, which would likely mean continued US support for the Ukrainian resistance. But there is tension between the two countries. The Ukrainian leader complained Wednesday that the United States leaked information about Ukraine’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles, which the Americans consider unrealistic.

The war is escalating just as the US election takes place. North Korean troops are reportedly already in Kursk, the Russian border province where Ukraine has captured 250 square miles of territory. Ukraine is pushing for US approval to fire long-range missiles into Russia, but Washington, afraid of escalating the conflict, has so far refused.

Ukraine’s August surprise attack on Kursk captured headlines and bolstered Zelensky’s argument that Ukrainian forces can win. But the Kursk offensive has not stopped Russia’s advance within Ukraine, as he had hoped. With fresh soldiers from North Korea potentially joining the fight alongside Russia, Ukraine will be under pressure to hang onto its foothold, while hoping Harris wins and provides more powerful weapons.

More from GZERO Media

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 2, 2025.
REUTERS/Carlos Barria

During a speech in White House Rose Garden on Wednesday, Donald Trump announced a 10% across-the-board tariff on US imports, with higher rates for countries that have a larger trade surplus with the United States – to the tune of 20% for the EU, 54% for China, and 46% for Vietnam, to name a few of the hardest-hit. Trump also confirmed that 25% levies on foreign-made cars and parts.

Palestinians travel in vehicles between the northern and southern Gaza Strip along the Rashid Road on April 2, 2025.

Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Reuters

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel was seizing more territory in Gaza to “divide up” the besieged enclave. He spoke as Israeli forces increased the intensity of their assault on Hamas in Gaza, which resumed two weeks ago after phase one of the ceasefire agreed to in January ended.

Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, tour the US military's Pituffik Space Base in Greenland on March 28, 2025.
JIM WATSON/Pool via REUTERS

How much would it cost for the United States to maintain Greenland as its territory? And what are the revenue possibilities from the Arctic island’s natural resources? Those are two questions the White House is reportedly looking into in the surest sign yet that Trump’s interest in Greenland is genuine.

Protesters demanded the ouster of South Korean President Yoon in central Seoul on March 29, 2025.
Lee Jae-Won/AFLO via Reuters

South Korea’s Constitutional Court will tie the legal bow on what has been a tumultuous period for the country as it rules Friday on whether to formally dismiss or reinstate impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol.

After voters elected her to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, liberal candidate Judge Susan Crawford celebrates with Wisconsin Supreme Court Judge Ann Walsh Bradley at her election night headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 1, 2025.

REUTERS/Vincent Alban

Republicans expanded their lean House majority after a pair of special elections in Florida, but a conservative candidate lost badly in a Wisconsin judicial race — despite a huge cash injection from Elon Musk.