Zelensky bet on Trump defeat – Ukrainian media

After the Republican’s triumph in the US presidential vote, officials in Kiev had to quickly devise a plan B, Ukrainska Pravda reports

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and his team had been banking on Democratic candidate Kamala Harris coming out on top in the November US presidential election, Ukrainska Pravda has reported. With her rival, Donald Trump, having emerged victorious, senior officials in Kiev are allegedly concerned that the Republican will be far less accommodating with respect to their requests.

While on the campaign trail, the GOP candidate repeatedly vowed to put an end to the Ukraine conflict in short order. While Trump has yet to present any peace plan, some of his close associates have suggested freezing the hostilities along the current front line – a scenario which both Kiev and Moscow have publicly rejected.

In its article on Wednesday, Ukrainska Pravda, citing multiple anonymous officials, claimed that shortly before Americans went to the polling stations, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andrey Yermak, was reassuring his colleagues that “there is no need to panic [and] Kamala will win.”

When the results came in, Zelensky’s team scrambled to work out a “plan B,” the Ukrainian newspaper alleges. According to the publication, the leadership in Kiev is concerned that, unlike outgoing President Joe Biden, Trump is unpredictable, as evidenced by the mixed signals his entourage has been sending.

Zelensky’s team supposedly fears that its ‘Victory Plan,’ which among other demands includes Ukraine’s admission to NATO, could lose its relevance under the new US head of state. 

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According to the newspaper, the Ukrainian leadership is well aware that many so-called ‘MAGA’ Republicans, including Trump’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr. and billionaire Elon Musk, “are not our friends.” However, Kiev is reportedly counting on mainstream GOP voters, many of whom are more supportive of Ukraine. 

The media outlet quoted one of its sources as saying that Ukraine is in fact currently not on top of Trump’s agenda, and that, contrary to his campaign claims, the Republican has not devised a comprehensive roadmap for ending the conflict.

The article, citing another unnamed official, alleged that the Ukrainian leadership should now be cautious not to rub the new US administration the wrong way for fear of Washington imposing unfavorable peace terms on Kiev. Another anonymous source concluded that “without Trump, nothing will work,” as the US may have the leverage needed to get Russia to engage in negotiations.