As Americans went to the polls on 5 November, residents of Zaporizhzhya in Ukraine watched their city burn. Zaporizhzhya has been under near-constant bombardment for weeks, with an offensive from Russia's army expected in the winter.

Zaporizhzhya is just one of the cities on the frontline of Russia's war in Ukraine that is under constant threat. Russian soldiers are advancing in Ukraine at their fastest rate since 2022. In the southern part of Ukraine, Russia has seized as much as 18% of Ukraine's territory.

But a far more important strategic victory may be in the works for Russia. Donald Trump's shock victory in the US elections earlier this week could spell the end of the war in Ukraine, which Trump boasted he would bring to a close "in 24 hours".

Trump has consistently said that his foreign policy priority is to conclude the war in order to end its drain on American resources - both military and financial - from supporting Ukraine. The USA is Ukraine's largest benefactor in military and financial terms.

But his pledge to build peace in a day on the back of a decade-long conflict - starting with Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 - has not been received well by Ukrainians, who worry that a "peace" settlement would force them to accept Russian occupation.

Trump has refused to elaborate on how he would achieve the end of the war, but the "peace deal" suggested by his aides had Ukraine conceding vast swathes of its eastern regions and Crimea to Russia.

Future Vice-President JD Vance has spoken derisivelyShowing ridicule or a lack of respect. of Ukraine a number of times, saying he "does not really care what happens to Ukraine, one way or another". Meanwhile, Trump has dished out lavish praise for the Russian president. But does it go both ways?

"Putin is a short, vain man," Nina Khrushcheva, great-granddaughter of former Premier of the Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev, told Politico. "The Kremlin likes the fact that the tall, rich Trump is in absolute awe of Putin."²

Did Ukraine just lose the war?

Yes: Trump has made it a policy priority to end the war, and has boasted about it endlessly. He will strong-arm Ukraine into a "peace" which is really just a concession to Russia's illegal occupation.

No: We must have faith in the Ukrainian people to continue persisting in impossible circumstances, as they have done so far. And though the USA is the biggest single benefactor of Ukraine, the EU countries combined provide Ukraine with more resources.

Or... It is only sensible to attempt to maintain superficially friendly relationships with both Russia and Ukraine. Trump has been deliberately ambiguous about how he wants to achieve peace in Ukraine. Perhaps he simply does not want to reveal his plan to Putin.