A sense of pessimism is growing in Kiev as Ukrainians await the outcome of the US presidential election while dealing with low morale and a weapons shortages, the New York Times (NYT) reported on Friday.
The paper said the US military and intelligence officials believe that the conflict is “no longer a stalemate,” given Russia’s recent successes on the battlefield.
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky “looked worn and stressed, anxious about his troops’ battlefield setbacks as well as the US elections” when he met with American officials in Kiev last week, the NYT said, noting that Ukrainian troops are having to deal with low morale, a lack of reinforcements, and an inability to outgun the Russian forces.
The paper cited an unnamed Ukrainian major stationed at the border near Russia’s Kursk Region as saying that the Ukrainians are “constantly losing previously occupied positions,” while Moscow’s forces have an advantage in men and artillery.
According to the NYT, US officials believe, however, the Ukrainians would have a chance to exploit “Russia’s weaknesses” if the aid from Washington “remains strong until next summer.”
Russian troops have been steadily gaining ground in recent months, having captured the heavily fortified mining town of Ugledar in Donbass early last month. Moscow has also launched an offensive aimed at pushing Ukrainian army units from the Kursk Region, which was invaded in August.
Zelensky has appeared increasingly worried over the course of the conflict, admitting earlier this year that Kiev had effectively become “a hostage” to the highly unpredictable US election. He urged Kiev’s foreign backers in July to redouble their efforts and help to end the conflict “as soon as possible.”
The BBC reported earlier this week that soldiers and ordinary Ukrainians were closely watching the presidential campaign in America, where Republican candidate Donald Trump, his running mate J.D. Vance, and several prominent Republicans have proposed conditioning aid to Ukraine or canceling it altogether.
“We should never give money anymore without the hope of a payback, or without ‘strings’ attached. The United States of America should be ‘stupid’ no longer,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in February.
He has repeatedly described Zelensky as “the greatest salesman on Earth” and claimed that, if reelected, he would quickly resolve the conflict between Moscow and Kiev through diplomacy.