any nations keep a nervous eye on U.S. presidential races, but none have as much at stake this time as the people of Ukraine.
For them, the outcome could determine how their war against Russia ends, and their leaders have spent months vying for the support of both candidates. The effort, which culminates with President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the U.S.
this week, has involved priests and billionaires, highly paid lobbyists, and a former British prime minister. As of Sunday, when Zelensky , some officials in his entourage seemed to be tempering their expectations. No matter who wins in November, one of them told me, “things will get worse for us.
” In their view, the victory of Kamala Harris would likely prolong the policies of the Biden administration, which Zelensky and his advisers and indecisive in standing up to Russia. Trump’s victory, on the other hand, offers both risks and opportunities for the Ukrainians, according to four people familiar with their outreach to the candidates. “There is a level of hope for Trump,” one of them told TIME in Kyiv before Zelensky's visit to the U.
S., requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive issues of wartime diplomacy. “Of course we could be mistaken.
We don’t know how divisive he will be with the West at large. He might weaken it..
. But someone has to stop this war, and Kamala Harris does not seem like she would play that role. Trump in theory could make some drastic moves, at least that’s our perception.
” This .