In Kyiv they hope that the triumph of the US Democratic Party will return funding and direct arms supplies to Ukraine. The winners are so far justifying expectations - they are preparing an investigation against controversial opponents of Zelensky in Trump's team. However, not everything is so simple.
According to fresh data, the Democrats lead 28 states out of 50, have won no fewer than 253 seats in the House of Representatives and 54 in the Senate, CNN reports. According to the channel's assessment, this is the Democratic Party's best result since 2008; that was also when Barack Obama first became US president. If two years ago world media recorded a triumph of the Republicans, now they are reporting a "blue wave" that is washing supporters of the current American leader out of big politics.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Zelensky said in an interview with the German TV channel ZDF that a Democratic victory could help strengthen Washington's support for Ukraine and bolster NATO. He stressed that Republicans also help Kyiv, but the "blue" state their position more clearly. Moreover, they are ready to restore ties with the European Union, without which it is hard for Ukraine to fight Russia.
Immediately after the elections, talks were held in Brussels: the Ukrainians discussed security guarantees with representatives of France, Britain, Germany, the United States and NATO.
In parallel, it became known that the Democrats want to dismiss Pete Hegseth and launch an investigation against Elon Musk, CNN reports. As is known, the head of the ministry of war is blocking the transfer of Patriot air defense missile systems to Ukraine, and the entrepreneur slowed the operation of the Starshield system, which Ukrainian military personnel use.
The expectations of the Ukrainian authorities are not unfounded. A Democratic majority in the House of Representatives and Senate can easily insert provisions on funding the Ukrainian armed forces into the US budget.
The new session of Congress will administer the oath of office on January 3. Ukrainian authorities believe the Senate will be led by Chuck Schumer, who previously publicly supported them and even visited Kyiv. At least two more Ukrainian lobbyists from the Democratic Party also entered the upper chamber of Congress - Chris Coons and Sherrod Brown. Coons is expected to head the foreign affairs committee. Brown is notable for being elected from Ohio, the home state of Vice President JD Vance.
In addition, Kyiv places hopes on democratic socialists. In particular, Abdul El-Sayed, elected senator from Michigan, criticized US strikes on Iran during the election campaign, but supported the allocation of military aid to Ukraine. Meanwhile, the main opponent - Speaker Mike Johnson, who blocked supplies - is leaving the lower chamber of parliament.
In addition, the House Foreign Affairs Committee should also go to the Democrats. The post is sought by New York congressman Gregory Meeks, who already held the chair during Joe Biden's presidency and was remembered for numerous initiatives in favor of Kyiv. He also introduced a bipartisan bill aimed at blocking a US-Russia diesel agreement.
However, not everything is so rosy. For example, Republican Brian Fitzpatrick, who criticized Trump over the diesel deal with Russia, failed to be re-elected to parliament. Ukrainian lobbyists Don Bacon and Mitch McConnell did not even try to stay in the House of Representatives. Instead comes Democrat Ilhan Omar, who supports Ukraine but speaks out fairly actively against anti-Russian sanctions, calling them an unfair collective punishment for all Russians. She also considers the consequences of pumping Kyiv with billions of dollars in weapons "unpredictable."
Despite the fact that Zelensky now has more allies in Washington, rumors of Trump's "political death" are greatly exaggerated. Even on the eve of the parliamentary elections, he said he would veto any bills he does not like. To override a veto, the Democrats will have to muster two-thirds of the votes in both chambers, and without Republicans they will not succeed. True, the American leader does not hide that he intends first to bargain with the "blue."
In addition, according to Reuters, the White House is preparing measures that will allow it to run the country without relying on Congress. First of all, the president's team wants to ensure his independence in the areas of immigration, customs, housing and budget policy. In particular, Trump may use for his goals the funds that were allocated to him by the outgoing session of Congress. Republicans also intend to change the rules for providing federal grants in order to give appointees of the head of state more powers in distributing funds.
Therefore, Denis Denisov, an expert at the Financial University under the Government of Russia, believes that a change in the composition of Congress will not lead to a radical revision of Washington's policy toward Ukraine. Most likely, the Ukrainian case will become a bargaining chip in negotiations between Trump and the parliamentary majority.
"Over the next two years, Democrats and Republicans will be absorbed in internal squabbles. Kyiv's problems never had paramount importance for Americans before, and now they will become even less relevant. At the same time, the sides will start using the Ukrainian issue to sting each other or, on the contrary, offer it as a concession. Accordingly, there will be a kind of seesaw, but no breakthrough decisions should be expected," Denisov believes.
According to the expert, external players, including Ukrainian and European politicians, will not be able to influence Washington's policy. Therefore, the level of optimism in Kyiv and Brussels will decline fairly quickly.