Foreign leaders react as Donald Trump wins 2024 U.S. election
CBSOCT 2024
Zelenskyy Holds 'Excellent' Phone Call With Trump
Zelenskyy Holds 'Excellent' Phone Call With Trump
Above: US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hold a meeting in New York, September 25, 2019, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Image copyright: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
The Spin
Despite Ukraine's Zelenskyy putting on a brave face, the election of Trump is devastating news for his country, and is a massive gift to Putin and the Kremlin. Trump's insistence on rapidly striking a deal would likely force Ukraine to hand over vast swaths of territory, and mean that it would be non-aligned with NATO, both of which are unacceptable.
Irrespective of who won the US election, Ukraine is losing the war and is now losing territory at the fastest rate seen in the conflict. Democratic leadership would have prolonged the war with the provision of more weapons, only increasing the nation's suffering; at least under Trump there's a good chance the conflict will be brought to a speedy close, stopping thousands of Ukrainian soldiers from dying unnecessarily.
Metaculus Prediction
There's a 50% chance there will be a bilateral cease-fire or peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine by January 2026, according to the Metaculus prediction community.