President-elect Donald Trump is already in action with his promise made during his election campaign, to quickly end the Ukraine war as he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on November 7, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on November 8 over the matter. This is just two days after he won the elections against Democratic rival Kamala Harris and is getting ready to take the office on January 20, 2025.
Trump’s calls comes after Putin sent a congratulatory message to Trump in which he showed his readiness to hold talks and highlight the importance of restoring US-Russia relations and working toward ending the war in Ukraine. Recently, Putin was at a public event in Russia’s Sochi, where he said, “Don’t think it’s wrong to hold a call with Trump. If some world’s leaders seek to restore contacts, I’m not against it. We are ready to speak to Trump,”.
Trump’s call with Putin
Sources familiar with the matter stated that Trump took the call from his resort in Florida, and urged Putin to avoid escalating the conflict in Ukraine. He also mentioned the presence of the American military in Europe which is close to Russia, likely pointing out the consequences if Russia chooses to escalate the conflict in Ukraine any further. However, reports suggest that Kremlin responded cautiously but positively. Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday over Putin’s response to Trump’s return that “The signals are positive… At least he’s talking about peace, and not about confrontation.”
Trump’s call with Zelenskyy
Zelenskyy described the call with the Republican leader Trump, as “excellent”, emphasizing a close and cooperative relationship with Trump. He also urged the need of strong US leadership for a fair and peaceful resolution. “We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation. Strong and unwavering US leadership is vital for the world and for a just peace,” he said. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has lately shown concern over the amount of US support given to Ukraine through military aid and financial aid, questioning whether such a level of support is really necessary. Both Trump and his allies said that aiding Ukraine in this manner helps fund a corrupt pro-war nexus of defense companies and foreign policy hawks. He revealed his plans to end the war as quickly as possible, without detailing on how.
Ukraine, though facing a manpower shortage and no definite support from the US, has steadfastly denied to give up territory and its European allies and weapons suppliers such as Britain and France are getting nervous about unilateral moves by Trump. Any quick deal in Ukraine is expected to require Kyiv, capital of Ukraine, to give up some of the territory it has lost to Russian invaders in Ukraine’s south and east. But Zelensky has said that giving up land or meeting other demands from the Kremlin would only encourage the Kremlin and provoke more aggression, similar to views shared by many European allies. Trump “briefly raised the issue of land” in his call with Putin, the Post reported, without further details.
Joe Biden’s support to Ukraine
On the other hand, the outgoing democratic administration of President Joe Biden is determined to support Ukraine by ensuring to send as much aid as possible before Trump takes the office in January. On Sunday, Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated that the White House aims “to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position on the battlefield so that it is ultimately in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.” And this will be done by using the remaining $6 billion of funding for Ukraine available, Sullivan said.
Recent weeks have seen the biggest drone attacks from both the sides, with Russia firing 145 drones at Ukraine overnight which were to take down the Ukrainian drones which target Moscow. According to Russia 34 drones have been taken down. Both the countries are moving strategically to strengthen their position in the upcoming peace talks.