Russian officials cautiously cheer on Trump's election victory

November 6, 2024

By Ukraine

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Several Russian officials on Nov. 6 voiced their first reactions to Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election, presenting it as a blow to Ukraine.

"Trump has one quality that is useful to us: as a businessman to the core, he hates spending money on freeloaders, on idiotic allies, charity projects, and greedy international organizations," former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said.

Trump claimed victory in a presidential vote on Nov. 5, defeating his Democratic challenger, Vice President Kamala Harris. The election is expected to have a profound impact on Washington's support for Kyiv, as there are fears Trump might withdraw support.

Medvedev, currently serving as deputy chairman of Russia's National Security and Defense Council, nevertheless said that a "bipartisan anti-Russian consensus" remains strong in the U.S. Congress.

"The question: is how much will they force Trump to give for the war," he wrote.

The Republican Party has secured a majority in the Senate in a parallel vote, while the election results in the House are still being counted.

Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson of Russia's Foreign Ministry, said on her Telegram channel that "those who live by love for their country, and not by hatred for others, win."

Publishing a video of Harris quoting a Bible passage, "Weeping may tarry for a night, but joy comes in the morning," Zakharova added. "Hallelujah, I'll add on my own."

Russian President Vladimir Putin does not plan to congratulate Trump on his victory, as the U.S. is an unfriendly country "involved in a war against Russia," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in reference to U.S. support for Ukraine.

A number of world leaders have congratulated Trump on his reelection, including Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and many others.

Putin claimed indifference to the result of the vote and once even said he would prefer Harris as a president in an apparent wry remark, while U.S. intelligence has accused Russia of election interference to boost Trump.

Trump has repeatedly boasted about his supposedly close relationship with Putin, prompting fears he might seek a deal with Moscow at the cost of painful concessions on Ukraine's part.

His plan to end the war within "24 hours" and get the U.S. "out" of Ukraine would benefit Russia by ceding Ukrainian territory and creating autonomous regions in the east, according to reporting in October.

"Trump's view is he wants to do everything he can to help Putin because for whatever reason he likes these strong men, he's fascinated by him in particular," Evelyn Farkas, the executive director of the McCain Institute, said in an interview with the Kyiv Independent.