US midterm elections could determine Ukraine’s future, Zelensky warns

Volodymyr Zelensky has said the forthcoming US midterm elections could impact the future of Ukraine, as Donald Trump’s Republican Party faces gloomy polls. The Ukrainian President warned that “a lot of things” - including US economic deals with Russia - now depend on Tuesday’s votes, in an interview with The Sun.“The result will have an influence either way,” he said. “It will influence a lot of different things, including Ukraine, including the war in Ukraine, including the attitude to Russians and different deals with them... Changes are understandable.”Amid deteriorating relations with the Trump administration, Zelensky went on to accuse the US of not putting pressure on Russia, explaining that the lack of “strong signals” mean that “Putin is doing well”.Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky said the results in the US would “have an influence either way” (Reuters)“How about the condemnation?” he said. “If the United States, our strong partner, understands that Putin’s goal is to occupy us and to destroy us, they can’t be on Putin’s side.”A poll from Silver Bulletin gives the Democrats over a 90 percent chance of flipping the House of Representatives and upwards of a 70 percent chance of regaining control of the Senate. But there are limits to what they could accomplish - on increasing financial support for Ukraine and further sanctions against Russia - without having to negotiate with Republicans, at least in the Senate.Even if the party does gain some power, Trump has already signalled a warmer relationship with the Kremlin and the president remains in power for another two years.“What happens is I veto everything. Then the Democrats come and they want to make a deal,” the US president said last week of the prospect of working with a Democratic-majority Congress.Russian continues to launch strikes on Ukraine’s capital in Kyiv, despite looming peace talks (Reuters)Zelensky’s remarks came just a week after Trump welcomed the idea of an arms control summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and told reporters that “Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine.” “They haven’t been doing much,” he added, despite Russia’s escalating attacks on Ukraine and the Black Sea. He later accused Zelensky of “not helping matters much [in securing a peace deal],” signalling a rift in their every challenging relationship.Trump has continued to point the finger at Ukrainian airstrikes on Russian oil refineries for driving up global diesel prices, instead of the war on Iran he started in February.The US president has also urged Ukrainians to “get a new leader”, as his rollercoaster relationship with Zelensky hits new lows. Trump has thrown his weight behind GOP campaigns and has encouraged voters to 'pretend' that he is on the ballot (AFP/Getty)“I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal, because he could have made many deals, and for some reason, he never does,” Trump told the press earlier this month.This has led some experts to question whether Zelensky is being used as a scapegoat for Trump’s domestic headaches.When a Sky News reporter asked the Ukrainian wartime leader last week whether that was the case, he paused for 15 seconds, before he eventually half-smiled and said: “This is my answer.”