There’s a place on Kyiv’s Independence Square where some passers-by stop longer than elsewhere to take a photo, look for a name or weep in silence. Right in the center of the Ukrainian capital, where pivotal moments in the country’s political life have been played out, a memorial has stood since the start of the Russian invasion. Located near a subway exit, the area around it is covered with Ukrainian flags planted in the ground for all the “heroes” who lost their lives defending the country. There are thousands and thousands of them.
Late on Wednesday, November 6, a few hours after the announcement of Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, 52-year-old Oleh lit candles in front of the monument. The election result didn’t deter him for a moment from missing this daily ritual. “Every day, I come here,” confided this craggy-faced father of two daughters (who declined to give his last name, like other interviewees), owner of a small toy store in Irpin, on the western outskirts of the capital.
Suddenly, an air raid alarm sounded. While the majority of passers-by along Khreschatyk Avenue paid no attention, Oleh made a religious gesture as he looked up at the sky. When it came to what might be the consequences of Trump coming to power, however, he said he wasn’t worried. Scrolling through photos of his 29-year-old daughter, who joined an assault brigade after the death of her soldier husband, he even said he appreciated the “reckless” side of the president-elect. “Trump has no interest in abandoning Ukraine because that would show that the US isn’t powerful,” he continued, dismissing with a wave of his hand the likelihood that the next tenant of the White House will keep his promises to force a peace deal with Russia. “We don’t want peace,” said Oleh. “We only want victory.”
Crucial support
After yet another night of Russian bombardment of several regions, Ukraine woke up on Wednesday to the news of the victory of the most unpredictable candidate for the country’s future. The subject was discussed in all the local media and, for a time, overshadowed the very bad news that had been coming from the eastern front for several months. In Kyiv, however, the mood seemed strangely serene in the face of this leap into the unknown.
While Democratic candidate Kamala Harris pledged to continue the military and financial aid invested by Joe Biden, Trump kept promising to make a clean break. During his campaign, the Republican candidate repeatedly promised that he would do everything in his power to stop the war “in 24 hours.” The fear, for Kyiv’s allies, is that a swift resolution of this war would mean territorial concessions to Russia and an abandonment of Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO.
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