NewsThe U.S. election is a make-or-break moment for aid to Ukraine

The U.S. election is a make-or-break moment for aid to Ukraine

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks as he meets with democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (not pictured), in the Vice President’s Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington, U.S., September 26, 2024. 

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

Tensions are likely running high in Kyiv ahead of Tuesday’s presidential election in the U.S. — a vote that could make or break ongoing aid for Ukraine.

The latest poll from NBC News showed a “deadlocked race” between Republican nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump and the Democrats’ candidate, current Vice President Kamala Harris.

For Kyiv, the big issue is how much support and financial backing it will continue to receive after White House leader Joe Biden, who has been in term throughout Russia’s war in Ukraine, leaves office.

After almost three years of fighting, there’s no doubt that funding fatigue is setting in among Kyiv’s biggest military supporters, particularly the U.S., despite ongoing public shows of support for Ukraine from the White House and NATO.

It’s widely agreed that a Trump administration and hard-line Republicans would be far more hostile toward granting Ukraine more military aid, significantly inhibiting its ability to continue to fight back against Russia. However, it’s also likely that even a Kyiv-friendly administration under Kamala Harris, who has pledged to continue supporting the war-torn nation, could struggle to convince U.S. lawmakers to give far more financial backing to Ukraine.

Officials in Kyiv say the election is being watched closely, amid concerns that future aid could be cut.

“Of course, we understand that this is one of the possible scenarios which would be heavily unfavorable for Ukraine,” senior Ukrainian official Yuriy Sak told CNBC last week.

“But on our part, we will do everything to continue to convince our partners in the U.S. to maintain the funding and the support at the same level, because the alternative is bad for all parties involved, including the United States of America,” he added.

“We, of course, are watching very closely what is happening. We have our opinion about the different candidates, but … we hope and count that regardless of who is the next president, the United States of America will continue to support Ukraine until our victory and until we re-establish just peace.”

: Ukrainian soldiers run for shelter from Russian army attacks as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues in the city of Toretsk, Donetsk, Ukraine, on July 5, 2024. The situation on the Toretsk front is tense.

Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images

Ukraine relies on its international partners for the military, humanitarian and financial needed to both keep the country functioning economically, and to remain militarily capable of fighting back against Russian forces entrenched in southern Ukraine, and those slowly advancing in the Donbas region in the east of the country.

The Kiel Institute of the World Economy,

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