Biden’s withdrawal from US presidential race spells new uncertainty for Ukraine
“I don’t know, honestly,” she said. “Surprises every day. But he did the right thing.”
Phillips O’Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, said Biden’s withdrawal “changes the narrative of the campaign”, but it is too soon to say how much it will alter the dynamic of the presidential election.
“If it makes the Democrats more likely to win, then Ukraine’s happy,” he said. “I don’t think a Harris administration would be that different from a Biden administration.”
Ukraine may be facing tough times regardless of who wins. While the US is Ukraine’s most crucial backer, under Biden it has sometimes been seen as a frustrating friend.
Standing in Kyiv’s Independence Square beside a sea of small Ukrainian flags left in tribute to those killed in the war, a solider said victory “is impossible without the support of the USA, that is a fact. They have the largest number of weapons, influence and everything”.
Still, the soldier, who gave only his nickname, Sadik, in line with military rules, said that if the US had provided more support, “the war would have ended a long time ago”.
But a new Trump administration would make things far worse, he added.
Trump has boasted that he could end the conflict within 24 hours, and Ukrainians think any such settlement would be on Russia’s terms.
Trump’s choice of Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, an opponent of US military aid to Ukraine, as vice-presidential running mate has triggered more alarm.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a visit to Britain last week that dealing with Trump would be hard work – but he added that Ukrainians are not “afraid of hard work”. Ukraine’s leader and Trump spoke by phone on Friday, a call both men described as good on social media platform X.
Zelensky has thanked Biden for his “unwavering support” and “bold steps” during more than two years of war.
“The current situation in Ukraine and all of Europe is no less challenging, and we sincerely hope that America’s continued strong leadership will prevent Russian evil from succeeding or making its aggression pay off,” Zelensky wrote on X.
Yet Ukraine’s gratitude for US support is tinged with frustration at its limitations.
As Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukraine’s cities and infrastructure, Zelensky’s government has pushed for the Biden administration to authorise the use of American-supplied weapons to strike deep inside Russia. Ukraine wants to target the sites, often far from the border, that Moscow uses to launch airborne attacks on Ukraine. Washington has not given permission out of concern the conflict could escalate.
“The Ukrainians are pretty disappointed with Biden,” said Edward Lucas, a senior adviser at the Centre for European Policy Analysis. “Biden’s dithering has a price, paid in the destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure and the slaughter of Ukrainian civilians, and in unnecessary battlefield casualties.
“So although Trump might be worse … a continuation of the Biden line is already pretty grim.”
Several senior US Democrats have quickly pledged to support Harris as the nominee. On foreign policy, her public statements have – unsurprisingly – been in lockstep with Biden’s. She told an audience at the Munich Security Conference in February that “President Joe Biden and I stand with Ukraine” and said the administration would “work to secure critical weapons and resources that Ukraine so badly needs”.
“It’s not our business to assess the US president’s decisions,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “This is something the US voters should be concerned about.”
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, said on the Telegram messaging app that Biden’s departure would not change Russia’s strategy in Ukraine.
“The goals of the special military operation will be achieved,” he said, using the Kremlin’s term for the war.
Ukraine and America’s other allies also worry the US could grow less dependable regardless of who wins. With a divided electorate and Congress, the next president could easily become consumed by domestic challenges before even reckoning with multiple flashpoints around the world. Gridlock in Congress that stalled a US$61 billion package of military aid to Ukraine for months before it was finally approved brought home the precariousness of the situation.
In Kyiv, Ukrainians absorbed the latest twist in a US election that may determine their country’s future.
“I love Biden because he supported Ukraine,” said Mykyta Kolesnikov, who manages a car wash business. “He sent us important assistance for the war when we needed it.”
But Kolesnikov, 21, said he understood that Biden had to step aside and just hoped the Democrats would field a stronger candidate.
“Zelensky says that he can work with Trump, but it will be very hard for Ukraine to work with Trump and his team,” Kolesnikov said.