Donald Trump’s plans to end the war between Ukraine and Russia are still unclear.
In Ukraine, they are expected to be ignorant of how Donald Trump’s the reign will affect the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The war situation in Ukraine has been difficult. When winter comes, the situation will only get more difficult, because Russia has damaged Ukraine’s electricity and heat production in several areas. This may cause power outages of up to 20 hours.
reporter working in Kyiv Justas Stasevskij says that Ukraine is experiencing war fatigue. People are hoping that Trump could be a spark of hope for a possible peace on Ukraine’s terms.
The docent of military sciences also says the same Ilmari Käihkö. He describes that although in Europe Trump’s unpredictability is generally seen as a threat, in Ukraine Trump even appears as a hopeful key figure.
– Officials have said that Trump’s rise to power could speed up the process that will lead to the end of the war.
Risk and opportunity
How Donald Trump intends to end the war is unclear. Käihkö says that Trump is both a risk and an opportunity.
– Trump may radically reduce Ukraine’s support or increase it. Or to do something new in war, such as removing political restrictions on the use of weapons.
Käihkö says that Ukraine has been dissatisfied with the support given by the West for a long time.
– Ukraine has been supported to the extent that it has been able to continue the war, but so little that Ukraine has not been able to end it.
Käihkö also reminds us that Europe is also able to influence the course of the war. All responsibility for the war should not be placed on the shoulders of the United States.
– Europe has a big role and responsibility in trying to influence Trump’s decision-making.
There is no desire for wars and no concessions
Last week, an opinion poll conducted by the International Institute of Sociology in Kyiv was published, according to which 32 percent of Ukrainians would accept ceding territory to Russia if it would lead to lasting peace.
The figure was around 8-10 percent two years ago.
However, Ilmari Käihkö reminds that such opinion polls must be viewed critically. The surveys do not reveal who was asked about the matter and in what situation.
Today, Saturday, the president Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced that Ukraine must do everything possible to end the war with a diplomatic solution next year. Käihkö cannot assess what kind of concessions Ukraine or Russia could agree to in order to achieve peace.
However, concessions to Ukraine are problematic.
– People don’t want to go to war, but they also don’t want to make concessions to Russia. This situation is intolerable in the long run, researcher Käihkö says.