Zelenskyy on US election results: Democrats signal support for Ukraine, we believe in positive changes
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine hopes for positive changes following the US midterm elections. During the campaign, Democrats spoke clearly about supporting and assisting Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said this in an interview with German broadcaster ZDF, Censor.NET reports.
Congressional support
Asked what the US election results mean for Ukraine, the president said that, as "human beings," people in Ukraine always hope any changes will be for the better.
"During any election, especially elections in the US, you hear signals. The signals from the Democratic Party were that, if they won, it would be important for them to focus on the war in Europe alongside domestic issues. This is Russia's war against Ukraine," he said.
Bipartisan support and the alliance with Europe
Zelenskyy thanked both Democrats and Republicans for their bipartisan support but stressed that Democrats had spoken particularly clearly about helping Ukraine during the elections.
"In my view, these ties between America and Europe have weakened somewhat over the past two years. This alliance is very important to us because, without it, stopping Putin is very difficult. So we hope there will now be a balance of power that brings us greater support," he said.
Impact on Russia and negotiations
According to Zelenskyy, if Congress begins talking about strong financial or military support for Ukraine, similar to the support Europe is currently demonstrating, it will send a positive signal.
"This positive development will influence Putin, and he will consider whether it makes sense for him to continue fighting. Logically, this will bring us closer to possible negotiations and possible peace," the head of state added.
US midterm elections
- Following the US midterm elections held on November 3, the Democratic Party is currently gaining control of both chambers of Congress. This means at least 54 seats in the Senate (51 are needed for a majority), and more than 231 seats in the House of Representatives (218 are required). The results have yet to be finalized.
- In these midterm elections, Democrats turned several states that had been Republican for decades "blue," with voting in Texas, Kansas and Southern California producing such results.
- The last time a Democrat was elected senator from Texas was in 1988, and from Kansas in 1932.
- Against this backdrop, US President Donald Trump said in an interview with The New York Times that he was "ready to accept the election results" and work with Democrats. On his Truth Social platform, he wrote that he "was not on the ballot," which was why Republicans were losing.
- The election results determine which party will control Congress over the next two years. If the opposition party wins a majority in one or both chambers, it can make it harder for the president to pass legislation and increase oversight of his administration. In this case, that means Democrats opposing Republican Trump.
