KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Soldiers in a Ukrainian artillery battery on the front lines in the country’s east were only vaguely aware Wednesday of American election results pointing to Donald Trump’s victory. But they were firm in their hopes for the next president of the United States.
Their entrenched artillery battery fires on Russian forces daily — and takes fire nearly as often. Just the other day, one of their overhead nets snared a Russian drone.
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A serviceman, known by the call sign Yaga, of the 13th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine looks on at his position on the front line near Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
A serviceman of the 13th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine prepares to fire a Giatsint-B gun towards Russian positions near Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
A serviceman of the 13th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine prepares to fire a Giatsint-B gun towards Russian positions near Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
A serviceman of the 13th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine fires a Giatsint-B gun towards Russian positions near Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
A serviceman of the 13th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine fires Giatsint-B gun towards Russian positions near Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump departs as son Barron Trump, left, and former first lady Melania Trump look on at an election night watch party, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
FILE - Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, right, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands during their meeting at Trump Tower, on Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
“I hope that the quantity of weapons, the quantity of guns for our victory will increase,” the unit's 39-year-old commander, who goes by the name Mozart, said in the hours before Trump’s win was confirmed. “We don't care who the president is, as long as they don't cut us off from help, because we need it.”
The soldiers, who use their Starlink connection to the internet sparingly, learned of the U.S. election results from Associated Press journalists.
Trump's election throws into doubt American support for Ukraine — and ultimately whether Kyiv can beat back Russia's invasion. But Mozart — who like other soldiers Wednesday did not give his name in keeping with Ukrainian military protocol — is among many Ukrainians who hope that Trump will hold the line on American support for their country. Russian forces have recently made gains in the east, although the commander described the front-line situation as “static.”
Yurii Fedorenko, commander of a Ukrainian drone unit also in the Kharkiv region, wears an American flag patch on his uniform. He is keenly aware of how critical American support has been for Ukraine.
“Suppose I were told that there was some country across the ocean that I didn’t even know where it was, and that I had to pay money from my taxes to this country so that it could exist," said Fedorenko, whose call-sign is Achilles — the same name as his battalion. “I don’t know how I would react. Therefore, I really thank the Americans and I really believe that they have a good education system, because the vast majority of people understand why the United States helps third countries, and in particular now Ukraine.”
It was under Trump that the United States first sent weapons to Ukraine in its fight against Russia, in 2017. Those Javelin anti-tank missiles were crucial to Ukraine's ability to fend off the full-scale invasion in 2022. But Trump overall is wary of U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts.
Trump, who has touted his good relationship with President Vladimir Putin and called the Russian leader “pretty smart” for invading Ukraine, has repeatedly criticized American backing of Ukraine. He characterized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “the greatest salesman on Earth” for winning U.S. aid.
Zelenskyy was among the first world leaders to publicly congratulate Trump, and said the two discussed how to end “Russian aggression against Ukraine” when they met in September.
“I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach in global affairs. 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,” he wrote on the social platform X.
Zelenskyy later wrote that he had spoken to Trump and congratulated him on “his historic landslide victory — his tremendous campaign made this result possible. I praised his family and team for their great work. We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation.”
Trump has said repeatedly he would have a peace deal done between Ukraine and Russia within a day if elected, although he has not said how. During his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, he twice refused to directly answer a question about whether he wanted Ukraine to win — raising concerns that Kyiv would be forced to accept unfavorable terms in any negotiations he oversaw.
In Kyiv, which comes under attack from Russian drones near daily, 18-year-old Viktoriia Zubrytska was pragmatic about her expectations for the next American president. She thinks Ukraine will be forced to give up territory in exchange for peace under a Trump presidency. But she said she preferred that to what she called the false hope that the Biden administration offered.
“We will live in a world of facts where we will be certain what awaits us,” said the law student. “Certainty and objective truth is much better than lies and life in illusions.”
According to VoteCast, 74% of voters who supported Harris favored continuing aid to Ukraine, while only 36% of Trump’s voters did. AP VoteCast is a survey of the American electorate conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago.
On the front lines in Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region, Andriy, who goes by “Rodych” or “Relative,” said Ukraine would "come up with something" no matter what happened in the U.S. vote.
“We are a shield between Europe and Russia,” he added. “Other countries do not understand what is happening here, they see it on TV and for them it is far away.”
America's NATO allies were closely watching the election. France and Germany arranged a last-minute, top-level defense meeting Wednesday in Paris to discuss the results, and Ukraine is likely to be central to the meeting. The two leading powers in the European Union provide significant support to Ukraine to defend it against Russia’s war.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, citing a “more aggressive Russia,” also invoked Trump's motto of “peace through strength.”
Rutte praised Trump for his work during his first term to persuade countries in the alliance to ramp up defense spending.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had no information on whether Putin plans to congratulate Trump, but he emphasized that Moscow views the U.S. as an “unfriendly” country. Peskov reaffirmed the Kremlin’s claim that U.S. support for Ukraine amounted to involvement in the conflict, telling reporters: “Let’s not forget that we are talking about the unfriendly country that is both directly and indirectly involved in a war against our state.”
Still, he noted Trump's promise to end the war swiftly once elected.
“The U.S. can help end the conflict,” Peskov said, adding that “it certainly can’t be done overnight."
In a rare agreement with the Kremlin, Fiona Hill, a former intelligence expert in the George W. Bush, Obama and Trump administrations, said it was increasingly clear that Europe had to step up its capacities.
“If Trump is saying, I’m going to sit down and resolve this in 24 hours, it’s highly unlikely that’s going to be the case,” Hill said in a podcast with the European Council on Foreign Relations a few days ahead of the election. “You can say the United States is going to stop supplying weapons, and you can hold everything out for leverage, but it’s not for the United States to do at this particular point. Because there are already other Europeans in the game in terms of assistance to the Ukraine.”
Konovalov reported from the Kharkiv region. Associated Press journalists Lorne Cook in Brussels; Hanna Arhirova, Illia Novikov and Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine; Danica Kirka in London; Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, and Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
A serviceman, known by the call sign Yaga, of the 13th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine looks on at his position on the front line near Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
A serviceman of the 13th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine prepares to fire a Giatsint-B gun towards Russian positions near Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
A serviceman of the 13th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine prepares to fire a Giatsint-B gun towards Russian positions near Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
A serviceman of the 13th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine fires a Giatsint-B gun towards Russian positions near Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
A serviceman of the 13th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine fires Giatsint-B gun towards Russian positions near Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump departs as son Barron Trump, left, and former first lady Melania Trump look on at an election night watch party, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
FILE - Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, right, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands during their meeting at Trump Tower, on Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
LONDON (AP) — The verdict of U.S. voters was more decisive than most pollsters and pundits had predicted. Now the world waits to see whether the election of Donald Trump as president for a second time will prove as destabilizing as many American allies fear.
Trump secured victory Wednesday when he surpassed the 270 electoral college votes needed to win. In a victory speech before the official declaration, he vowed to “put our country first” and bring about a “golden age” for America.
Trump’s first term saw him insult and alienate many of the United States’ longstanding allies. His return to the White House, four years after losing office to President Joe Biden, has huge consequences for everything from global trade to climate change to multiple crises and conflicts around the world.
Trump has pledged to ramp up a tariff feud with China, the United States’ growing economic and strategic rival. In the Middle East, Trump has pledged, without saying how, to end the conflicts between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah. He has also vowed to end the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office – something Ukraine and its supporters fear would be on terms favorable to Moscow.
Here’s how leaders and others around the world are reacting:
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte congratulated Trump, saying, “I look forward to working with him again to advance peace through strength through NATO” in the face of “a growing number of challenges globally,” including “the increasing alignment of China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.”
Trump was a strong critic of the North Atlantic military alliance during his first term, accusing its other members of failing to pull their weight. Earlier this year he said the United States would not defend NATO members that don’t meet defense spending targets. Trump wants European allies to boost their own military spending to rely less on U.S. deterrence, but some European leaders and diplomats have expressed fears that he fundamentally lacks commitment to NATO.
Rutte emphasized the positive, praising Trump for his work persuading member states to ramp up defense spending and saying NATO was now “stronger, larger, and more united.”
America’s allies are — belatedly, some say — grappling with what to do if they cannot depend on the U.S. for their defense.
“The existential concern for Europeans has been what happens to Ukraine, what happens to Europe’s security, what happens to America’s commitment to NATO?” said Leslie Vinjamuri, director of the U.S. and Americas program at the think tank Chatham House. “Will America be there for Europe?”
The U.S. is by far Kyiv’s biggest military backer as it battles Russian invasion, though the Biden administration resisted pressure from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to do even more. Zelenskyy, like Rutte, said he welcomed Trump’s “peace through strength” approach.
“This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media. “I am hopeful that we will put it into action together. We look forward to an era of a strong United States of America under President Trump’s decisive leadership.”
Zelenskyy later wrote that he had spoken to Trump and congratulated him on “his historic landslide victory—his tremendous campaign made this result possible. I praised his family and team for their great work. We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation.”
No congratulations were forthcoming from Moscow, where President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, declared that Russia-U.S. relations were at the “lowest point in history.”
European leaders rushed to congratulate Trump even before his victory was officially declared — some more effusively than others.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it a “historic election victory” and said that “as the closest of allies, the U.K. and U.S. will continue to work together to protect our shared values of freedom and democracy.”
Like governments of U.S. allies around the world, Starmer’s center-left administration has worked hard to forge ties with Trump and his team. Starmer had dinner with Trump at Trump Tower in September.
France’s centrist President Emmanuel Macron offered congratulations, “respect and ambition.” Social Democratic German Chancellor Olaf Scholz congratulated Trump and said he wanted continued close ties, even if “surely many things will be different under a Donald Trump-led administration.”
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, whose far right-led government is in some ways close to Trump politically, said Italy and the U.S. had a “strategic bond, which I am sure we will now strengthen even more.”
European leaders are keen to stress that the transatlantic relationship transcends individual politicians, but Trump’s protectionist economic leanings are causing concern. During his last term he slapped tariffs on European steel and aluminum, roiling the bloc’s economy.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed that the EU and the U.S. "are bound by a true partnership between our people, uniting 800 million citizens. Let us work together on a transatlantic partnership that continues to deliver for our citizens.”
Europe’s populist politicians, meanwhile, welcomed the victory of a kindred spirit.
“They threatened him with prison, they took his property, they wanted to kill him ... and he still won,” said Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who will hold a summit in Budapest for some 50 European leaders on Thursday.
During his first term, Trump pushed to remake the Middle East by reconciling Israel and Saudi Arabia, and all eyes now are on how he intervenes in the region’s raging conflicts between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon — and the chief backer of the two militant groups, Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Trump’s election win “history’s greatest comeback.”
“Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America. This is a huge victory!” he wrote on social media.
Trump and Netanyahu — a fellow conservative nationalist — had a tight relationship during the former president’s first term, but the ties soured when Netanyahu congratulated President Joe Biden on winning in 2020.
Netanyahu’s inner circle hopes Trump will allow Israel free rein against its enemies, but the president-elect is famously unpredictable, and the Israeli leader faces strong opposition at home. On Tuesday he fired popular Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, a surprise announcement that sparked protests across the country.
Hamas issued a terse statement saying, “Our position on the new U.S. administration depends on its positions and practical behavior towards our Palestinian people, their legitimate rights and their just cause.”
Washington is one of the key mediators of so-far unsuccessful Gaza cease-fire talks. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, another key player in regional peace efforts who had close ties to Trump during his first administration, said Egypt looked forward “to arriving together at achieving peace and preservation of stability in the region.”
Other African leaders, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, also sent congratulations.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for the U.S. and China to manage their differences and get along in a new era in a congratulatory message to Trump.
He told Trump that history has shown that both sides gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation, according to Chinese state media.
But analysts in China were pessimistic, citing the likelihood of escalating tariffs and an intensifying confrontation over Taiwan.
“It is not all dark, but there are more challenges than opportunities,” said Da Wei, director of the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University in Beijing. “We are clear about the challenges. As for opportunities, we are yet to see them clearly.”
Long-seething territorial disputes in the South China Sea are a fault line in the U.S.-China rivalry in Asia and likely will remain a major foreign policy concern for the next American president.
Asian leaders apprehensive about China’s growing clout and North Korea's nuclear program, clamored for Trump’s attention in congratulatory messages.
“I hope to closely cooperate with President-elect Trump to further elevate Japan-U.S. alliance and relations to even higher levels,” Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said the Korea-U.S. alliance “will shine brighter,” under Trump's ”strong leadership."
But Phillips O’Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews, said Washington’s allies in the Indo-Pacific, including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and even Australia, “can no longer look for the U.S.A. to be a reliable partner in defense.”
The United States’ neighbors in the Americas, some of whom bore the impact of Trump's protectionist instincts during his first term, also braced for uncertainty.
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum told Mexicans “there is no reason to worry,” despite Trump’s previous threats to impose trade tariffs on Mexican products unless the country does more to stem the flow of migrants and drugs to the U.S.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — previously derided by Trump as “weak” and “dishonest” — wrote on X: “The friendship between Canada and the U.S. is the envy of the world. I know President Trump and I will work together to create more opportunity, prosperity, and security for both of our nations.”
Brazil’s left-leaning President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva congratulated Trump — despite having endorsed Kamala Harris days ago.
“Democracy is the voice of the people and must always be respected,” Lula said on X.
Associated Press writers around the world contributed to this story.
Pedestrians pass a digital screen showing news headlines about the U.S. election, in Leicester Square, in London, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Republican and Democratic Party pins are displayed at a venue as guests watch a television broadcast of U.S. elections in Hong Kong, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)
A speech by Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump is broadcast live on a monitor in the trading hall of Deutsche Börse in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP)
Pedestrians stand at the crossing in front the Rossiya Segodnya International Media Group building with a running news line about the U.S. elections, top, in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)
A man checks his smartphone in a cafe as a television screen shows Donald Trump,Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Indian people watch results of U.S. elections on a television in Guwahati, India, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
A screen shows live footage of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speech during a news program in Nairobi, Kenya, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
A MIT Sim company broker watches monitors showing graphics of the stock market, in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Pakistanis watch news channels broadcasting results of U.S. presidential elections, at a shop in Karachi, Pakistan, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
Steve Baker, left, Claudine Earley and their dog Louis watch a television broadcast during a U.S. election viewing party at Mean Doses bar in Wellington, New Zealand on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay)
A screens shows live footage of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speech during a news program in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns watches with other attendees as voting results are displayed on screen at a reception for the U.S. presidential election held at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
American and Ukrainian flags placed in honour of fallen servicemen flutter in the wind in front of statue in central square, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Babenko)
