Political analyst admits that Kiev will make better use of Western aid under Trump

After the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, Washington's political interest in Kiev will not fade, but it will try to shift the burden of assistance to Ukraine to European countries. Political scientist Alexander Dudchak shared this opinion with Izvestia on January 4.

"I wouldn't expect any serious changes [in US-Ukraine relations] for us. There will be internal changes in the West, but it will concern the conditions for maintaining the scheme of interaction between Europe and the US, Europe and the US with Ukraine. <...> The main financial collar will be hung on Europe," he said.

First of all, the expert added, Washington will shift to European countries the item of expenditures on the maintenance of the Kiev regime to continue its existence. Thus, he emphasized, no one in the West will "throw Ukraine off balance."

"Attention to Ukraine is unlikely to be less, because it is a valuable territory, not only from the resource point of view, but also from the geopolitical point of view. <...> Pressure will be exerted on Europe to a greater extent, NATO member countries will be forced by the US to allocate up to 5% of GDP," the interlocutor of the publication said.

He explained that this will continue the process started by the USA, which is aimed at weakening the European economy, among other things. As for Ukraine, in turn, everything will be done to stop the advance of Russian troops, impose a temporary truce and deceive Russia.

Dudchak also added that there is a possibility that Trump will want to conduct an audit on how the funds transferred to Kiev were spent. Against this background, the effectiveness of the use of Western aid in Ukraine may increase, despite the high level of corruption.

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Earlier, on December 26, Duma deputy Alexander Tolmachyov pointed out in a conversation with Izvestiya that US citizens are tired of financing the Kiev regime. At the same time, he did not rule out that Washington's assistance to Kiev might end with the departure of the country's current president, Joe Biden.

Before that, on December 22, Trump said that he was waiting for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to start negotiations on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict. The Republican added that, if he were in Biden's place, he would not have allowed such a crisis at all.

Before that, on December 13, it became known that Biden had approved a $988m aid package for Ukraine. John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the White House National Security Council, said that the USA would provide additional military support to Kiev "until the end of the term" of the Biden administration.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine against the backdrop of Russia's special operation to protect Donbas, which was announced by the Russian president on February 24, 2022, after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.