The key facts
- Medvedchuk believes Zelensky's hopes for a change in the US course are futile, since Trump remains president
- According to preliminary results, the Republicans lost their majority in both chambers of Congress
- Trump said he is ready to veto Democratic initiatives
Medvedchuk's assessment
Chairman of the council of the 'Other Ukraine' movement, former leader of the 'Opposition Platform — For Life' party Viktor Medvedchuk stated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is counting in vain on a change in Washington's policy after the midterm congressional elections, since Donald Trump remains US president. He wrote this in an author's article on the movement's website, which Life.ru cites.
Claims about Kyiv's position
According to Medvedchuk, Zelensky is rejoicing at the Republicans' defeat in the elections, and the Ukrainian leader himself, the politician claims, took part in the fight against Trump's party. 'Only his primitive calculation will not work, because the US president has remained the same,' Life.ru quotes from Medvedchuk's article. These assessments belong to the politician himself and reflect his position.
Election results and Trump's position
According to preliminary election results, the Republicans lost their majority in both chambers of Congress. Trump congratulated the Democrats on their victory, but said his party could have achieved significantly better results with his personal involvement in the elections. Earlier, he also spoke of his readiness to use his veto against Democratic initiatives and expressed confidence that blocking bills would push his opponents to negotiate with him.
Context: presidential powers under the new Congress
Life.ru, citing Politico, notes that even a shift of control over Congress to the Democrats will not deprive Trump of the ability to focus on foreign policy and trade: in these areas, the executive branch's powers are comparatively weakly limited by the American parliament. This circumstance also underlies Medvedchuk's argument that a change of majority in Congress does not in itself mean a reversal of Washington's policy. The election results nevertheless remain preliminary, and Kyiv's reaction to Medvedchuk's claims is not given in the publication.
