Mariia-Khrystyna Dvoinik, alias Alpaca, a paramedic of the Hospitallers Medical Battalion, was killed in the war. On 13 November, Mariia was fatally injured while on her way to evacuate an injured soldier.
Source: Yana Zinkevych, the founder of the Hospitallers Medical Battalion
Quote from Yana Zinkevych: "She was fearless and did not hesitate to risk her life to save her comrades and help them return home alive. The Russians took her life, taking away our support and the military's chance to be saved. Her heart was always open to anyone who needed help. This death is a terrible loss to our battalion. May our brave sister-in-arms, Alpaca, be remembered forever. She left behind warm memories that will live on in our hearts."
The medical battalion added that Mariia-Khrystyna was a bright, boisterous and purposeful person, eager to learn.
"[Mariia-Khrystyna] had many plans for the future and devotedly loved what she did. She volunteered and raised funds through large fundraisers. She loved Ukraine even more, dreaming of its reconstruction after the victory," the medical battalion added.
Information about the burial of the deceased paramedic will be published later on the official pages of the Hospitallers.
We have come up with five uncapped England-eligible players whose performances this season might left them wandering when it’s their turn…
Dwight McNeil (Everton) Only two English players – Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer – have created more chances in the Premier League this season than McNeil, who was missing through injury when the Toffees played out that goalless grind against West Ham on Saturday. He has claimed three Premier League goals and three Premier League assists but would surely have more in the latter category if he was servicing a striker other than Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
McNeil has 10 England Under-21 caps so has pathway points but crucially, all those caps came under Aidy Boothroyd, with the then-Burnley winger turning 21 six months before Lee Carsley took charge. Unlucky.
Sean Longstaff (Newcastle United) With Declan Rice ruled out, Lee Carsley should perhaps have looked at the man who out-tackled him 6-2 when the pair met in Newcastle’s win over Arsenal last week, before out-playing Morgan Gibbs-White last weekend.
At the start of the season we thought Longstaff was keeping the Newcastle midfield seat warm for Sandro Tonali, but he has forced his way into the Newcastle starting line-up for perhaps their finest two performances and results of the season. New England call-up Lewis Hall calls him “underrated” and we have been as guilty as anyone.
It doesn’t help his cause that he has literally no England youth experience; he was on loan at Blackpool at the age of 21 and it’s only three years since Newcastle were willing to sell Longstaff to Everton for just £10m. They’re rather glad they didn’t right about now.
Leif Davis (Ipswich Town) “It would be a dream to play for England, play for my country,” said the Ipswich left-back last week. The problem? He a) plays for Ipswich Town and b) has never even been close to an England youth call-up, having come up with the Tractor Boys from League One.
There’s no doubt that a dearth of left-backs – Lewis Hall is the only dedicated left-back in the re-jigged England squad – should work in his favour, but successive England managers have now played centre-backs and right-backs on the left rather than look further down the Premier League table. Just ask Rico Henry.
Liam Delap (Ipswich Town) Only one English player has outscored Delap in the Premier League this season. As Cole Palmer has now pulled out of the England squad, Harry Kane is the only man currently available to Lee Carsley who is in better goalscoring form than the actual England Under-21 man.
As we wrote in Premier League winners and losers: ‘It really is a very good time to be a young English striker scoring Premier League goals. If England are – as seems likely – going to largely skip the post-Kane generation of strikers – your Watkinses, your Solankes – and move straight on to the next gen as happened with Kane himself when he usurped Wayne Rooney, then Delap has a clear run at it.’
Ryan Yates (Nottingham Forest) A starting midfielder for a top-six Premier League side would usually be a shoo-in for an England call and yet it would be a massive surprise if Yates was given his first England call-up. Even he says “it’s always a possibility” but does not sound convinced that ‘possible’ could ever become ‘probable’.
Was excellent v Chelsea and then Leicester City as Forest pulled themselves into an unlikely top-four spot but Yates is another who was breaking through in the Championship at the age of 21 rather than playing in a Man City or Man Utd development team. At 26, the dream is not yet over, but no central midfielder in Carsley’s current squad is over the age of 24.
Maybe Thomas Tuchel will look beyond England Under-21 pedigree…
Maxim Agarushev took third place at the Baltic Cup in modern pentathlon with 1522 points. Among other Ukrainians, Oleksandr Tovkay and Anastasia Chyzhova finished seventh in their respective categories.
Ukrainian pentathlete is among the three winners of the Baltic Cup. This was reported by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, UNN reports.
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At the Baltic Cup in modern pentathlon held in Lithuania, Ukrainian athlete Maksym Agarushev took third place. With 1522 points, he was second only to two representatives of the host country's team.
Ukraine was represented at the tournament by athletes in the adult age category. In addition to Agarushev, Oleksandr Tovkay took seventh place among men.
In the women's competition, Ukrainian Anastasia Chyzhova also finished in seventh place, showing stable results.
Ukrainian athlete sets record time at prestigious Ironman in FloridaNov 9 2024, 02:56 AM • 20116 views
The President announced that the work of the technological rate had been coordinated with a priority on drones to shoot down the “Shahed”. The specific composition and responsible persons are being determined.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the approval of the work of the technological rate with a priority on drones, in particular on UAVs to shoot down the "Shahed", the creation of which he announced in October, and the determination of the specific composition and responsible persons is underway. Zelensky said this in an evening address, UNN reports.
Technological Bet – we have agreed on the format of the work, and we are in the process of determining the specific composition and responsible persons. Sanctions and pressure on Russia, in particular against the shadow tanker fleet, are a system of measures. We will work more with partners, although it is not easy
– Zelensky said.
He also noted that today he held a detailed meeting on other issues that had been previously discussed with the civil sector.
"The issue of officer ranks and positions – there is already a vision of how this can be made more modern," Zelensky said.
Recall
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed to format a technology bet with a priority on drones, in particular UAVs to shoot down the Shahed.
Trump's party is projected to have a majority in the US House of Representatives and Senate. This will allow the Republicans to push through the tax cut program and may affect support for Ukraine.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's Republican Party will control both houses of Congress when he takes office in January, Edison Research predicted on Wednesday, allowing him to push through a tax cut and shrink the federal government, Reuters reports, UNN writes.
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As indicated, the Republicans will have at least 218 votes needed to control the House of Representatives with 435 seats, Edison predicts, with nine races still to be decided. This was also reported by CNN and NBC News. The Republicans have already secured a majority in the US Senate with at least 52-48, with the outcome of one race not yet determined after the November 5 election.
Republicans in the US Senate elected a new leader against Trump's wishesNov 13 2024, 06:54 PM • 16319 views
As Bloomberg notes, the Republicans retained their slim majority in the US House of Representatives, giving Donald Trump and his party control of the elected branches of government and limiting potential restrictions on the new president's powers.
According to Bloomberg, Trump's power over the so-called Washington trifecta also strengthens the party's position on immigration controls and reduced regulation on Wall Street and in the energy sector.
The Republican victory, as indicated, also eliminates the threat of a congressional investigation of Trump's actions by Democrats. During his first term, the House of Representatives impeached him twice, although the Senate never found him guilty.
The results of the House vote also have broad foreign policy implications, as Bloomberg notes, “adding further doubt to the continuation of U.S. assistance to Ukraine in its defense against Russian invasion.” Many Republicans in the House of Representatives opposed additional military aid to Ukraine, the newspaper notes.
However, Bloomberg notes , the Republican majority in the House of Representatives will be very thin, and intra-party disagreements threaten unity of action.
Trump, as indicated, may have more leverage over recalcitrant hard-line conservatives, especially with measures that are a priority for his administration.
Later on Wednesday, House Republicans approved a rule aimed at preventing another public removal of the speaker from office in the next Congress, raising the threshold for moving a motion to remove from one lawmaker to nine.
Johnson was elected speaker of the House of Representatives last October after a handful of rebels ousted his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy.
Republicans unanimously endorse Mike Johnson for SpeakerNov 14 2024, 03:34 AM • 12118 views
Russia has lost 716,070 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Nov. 14.
This number includes 1,690 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
According to the report, Russia has also lost 9,319 tanks, 18,947 armored fighting vehicles, 29,090 vehicles and fuel tanks, 20,472 artillery systems, 1,252 multiple launch rocket systems, 997 air defense systems, 369 airplanes, 329 helicopters, 18,852 drones, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine.
Enemy forces shelled 19 settlements in Kherson region, including the regional center. As a result of the attacks, residential buildings and cars were damaged, and 15 people were injured.
Yesterday, a number of settlements in the Kherson region came under fire as a result of enemy air strikes and shelling. This was reported by the head of the Kherson RMA Oleksandr Prokudin, according to UNN.
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According to the information, Beryslav, Poniativka, Stanislav, Tyahyntsi, Odradokamyanka, Antonivka, Vesele, Kozatske, Mylove, Kachkarivka, Komyshany, Sadove, Tomyna Balka, Novovorontsovka, Tomaryne, Bilozerka, Zelenivka, Inzhenerne and the city of Kherson were hit.
Terrorists struck residential areas, utility companies and the local fire department.
The shelling damaged a multi-storey building, seven private houses, outbuildings and vehicles, including an ambulance and private cars. As a result of the aggression, 15 people sustained injuries of varying severity.
Russians attack ambulance with drone during evacuation of wounded in Kherson regionNov 13 2024, 01:39 PM • 13657 views
Russia has lost 1,690 soldiers killed and wounded, 64 artillery systems, 51 armoured combat vehicles and 19 tanks over the past day.
Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook
Details: The total combat losses of the Russian forces between 24 February 2022 and 14 November 2024 are estimated to be as follows [figures in parentheses represent the latest losses – ed.]:
approximately 716,070 (+1,690) military personnel;
Taiwan plans to discuss strengthening its defense capabilities with the incoming Trump administration. The government is considering a large-scale contract for the purchase of American weapons amid threats from China.
Taiwan does not yet have a clearly defined list of defense agreements to discuss with the incoming administration of US President Donald Trump, but plans to raise the issue of strengthening its defense capabilities. This was reported by Reuters, according to UNN.
Details
Taiwanese security officials said that while specific arms arrangements have not yet been determined, Taipei is ready to actively cooperate and take into account recommendations to strengthen the island's defense.
This issue becomes relevant against the backdrop of Trump's statements about the need for Taiwan's financial participation in ensuring its own security.
According to the Financial Times, the Taipei government is considering a large-scale contract for the purchase of American weapons, which may emphasize Taiwan's determination to strengthen its defense against the threats from China.
Given the situation, Taiwan plans to focus on strengthening its self-defense capabilities and hopes that negotiations with the new US administration will help in this direction.
Taiwan hands over HAWK air defense system to UkraineNov 13 2024, 03:39 PM • 16176 views
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's first team picks have both positive and negative implications for Ukraine, with Kyiv left guessing what kind of policy they will pursue, according to Ukrainian and Western analysts.
Some appointments seem to lean in Kyiv’s favor, while others hint at a more Moscow-friendly stance.
Analysts say that Trump has assembled a team of China hawks focused primarily on countering Beijing, which they see as the main economic and military threat to the U.S. They are less concerned with opposing Russia and view its war against Ukraine as a distraction from China.
"These are not the best choices (for Ukraine) but not the worst either," Ukrainian political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko told the Kyiv Independent.
On Nov. 12, Trump chose Peter Hegseth, a conservative talk show host on Fox News, as his defense secretary. The move prompted concerns in Kyiv because Hegseth is an isolationist who has called for reducing the U.S. commitment to the NATO military alliance.
On the same day, Trump also picked billionaire Elon Musk and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy to run a new Department of Government Efficiency. The department, which is supposed to cut bureaucracy and reduce regulation, will “provide advice and guidance from outside of government,” Trump said.
Ramaswamy has made statements highly critical of Ukraine. Musk has prompted controversy by suggesting that Ukraine cede the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula to Russia and agree to a vote on the status of other occupied territories accounting for some 20% of state territory. However, it is not clear if Ramaswamy and Musk will have any influence on Trump’s foreign policy.
The decisions on Hegseth, Ramaswamy, and Musk were preceded by Trump's announcement on Nov. 9 that ex-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley would not join his team.
Pompeo and Haley are among the most pro-Ukrainian Republicans, and analysts say that Trump's decision not to hire them may point in the direction of a more Kremlin-friendly policy and a peace deal on Russia's terms.
Trump’s other decisions are seen as less negative for Ukraine.
He said on Nov. 12 that Michael Waltz would be appointed as his national security advisor. Reuters and other media also reported on Nov. 12 that Trump was expected to appoint Marco Rubio as secretary of state but this decision has not been officially announced yet.
Some commentators described Rubio and Waltz as more pro-Ukrainian and hawkish on Russia than other Trumpists. Others warned, however, that their record on Ukraine has been ambiguous, and it has yet to be seen to what extent they will back Kyiv.
"(Rubio and Waltz understand) that the U.S.' global position depends in part on its network of allies and partners, and on collaborating with them, which is good news for Ukraine," Charly Salonius-Pasternak, lead researcher at the Center on U.S. Politics and Power at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, told the Kyiv Independent.
"Both (Waltz and Rubio) do think Europe should spend more on its own defense and have become more skeptical of unlimited assistance to Ukraine… so both Waltz and Rubio have aligned themselves more with Trump’s policy ideas during the recent past. I think it’s reasonable news for Ukraine, but doesn’t change the overall picture," Salonius-Pasternak said.
Trump's pick for defense secretary, Hegseth, is a co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend, a talk show on the conservative TV channel Fox News.
Hegseth previously served as an infantry captain in the Army National Guard and as the executive director of two veteran organizations, Vets for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America.
Hegseth's views on foreign policy and Ukraine in particular are controversial.
He has defended Trump's statement made during the invasion of Ukraine that Russian President Vladimir Putin was "savvy" and a "genius." Hegseth argued that Trump was solely trying to "troll" the media amid the coverage of the war.
Hegseth has also stirred controversy by suggesting that Russia's full-scale invasion "pales in comparison" to "wokeness" — a conservative pejorative term for left-wing ideology in the U.S.
Pete Hegseth as Nick Lachey Visits "Fox & Friends" to discuss the "American Kennel Club" show at Fox News Channel Studios on Feb. 5, 2019, in New York City, U.S. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
He is also skeptical about the NATO military alliance.
"Why should America, the European 'emergency contact number' for the past century, listen to self-righteous and impotent nations asking us to honor outdated and one-sided defense arrangements they no longer live up to?" Hegseth wrote in his 2024 book titled "The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free."
Unlike Rubio and Waltz, Hegseth is an outsider without any prior background in government. Fesenko, the Ukrainian political analyst, said that Trump’s decision on Hegseth was “surprising,” adding that it’s not clear what to expect from him.
Musk, who will co-run the Department of Government Efficiency, also has controversial views on Ukraine.
Musk helped Ukraine in 2022 by providing Starlink satellite Internet terminals. But he prompted a scandal the same year by suggesting a peace plan that included Ukraine's neutral status, recognizing occupied Crimea as Russian, and holding a UN-supervised vote on the status of other occupied territories.
Musk’s portfolio will be focused on domestic policy. But Volodymyr Dubovyk, an expert on U.S.-Ukrainian relations and head of Odesa National University's Center for International Studies, argued that he could have considerable influence on foreign policy as well.
Musk joined Trump's call with Zelensky on Nov. 6, CNN and the New York Times reported, citing their sources.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk (R) joins former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a campaign rally at the site of his first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 5, 2024. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
Ramaswamy, Musk’s future colleague at the Department of Government Efficiency, was a candidate in the Republican primaries for the 2024 presidential election. He has made a number of virulently anti-Ukrainian statements.
"Joe Biden needs to man up to his bully-friend (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky and clearly state that we are dead-set opposed to the Ukrainian admission to NATO,” Ramaswamy wrote on X in 2023. “This should be a hard red line.”
In another attack on Zelensky, he said that, if elected president, he would “refuse to be bullied by an anti-democratic comedian-turned-leader and it’s truly mystifying to me that the rest of the West is eating out of this Pied Piper’s hand every day.”
Trump's decisions on Ramaswamy, Musk, and Hegseth mean that "all policy will be under the White House's direct control," Dubovyk said.
"All of them are loyal to Trump," he added.
Trump's Nov. 11 decision to nominate U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik as ambassador to the UN has also triggered concerns because she voted against a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine in April. A group of Republicans blocked U.S. military aid for Ukraine for half a year from late 2023 to early 2024, hampering Ukraine’s defense.
Trump’s other personnel decisions are seen in a more positive light.
Tymofiy Mylovanov, president of the Kyiv School of Economics and former advisor to Zelensky’s office, wrote on X on Nov. 12 that both Rubio and Waltz were "good for Ukraine,” adding that Waltz had called for stepping up support for Kyiv.
Peter Rough, director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia at the conservative Hudson Institute, told the Kyiv Independent that Rubio and Waltz were "foreign policy professionals of the highest order" who "will defend U.S. interests vigorously, which requires a clear-eyed understanding of the threat posed by Russia."
Daniel Kochis, a senior fellow in the Center on Europe and Eurasia at the Hudson Institute, told the Kyiv Independent that he “wouldn’t read the expected appointments of Rubio and Waltz as necessarily a bad sign for Ukraine.”
"The appointment of Rubio in particular may bode well" for Ukraine, he said.
Others were more skeptical about Trump's first picks.
"I would not read too much into Trump’s picks for specific posts," Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told the Kyiv Independent.
"Unlike during his first term, when he to some extent followed the advice of his more experienced advisers, in his second term, I expect Trump to call the shots. He is picking people that he believes will be loyal and follow the leader."
Waltz, Trump's pick for national security advisor, is a congressman from Florida and a retired Army Green Beret.
His views on Ukraine have changed since 2022.
In 2022, he called on Biden's administration to provide more weapons to Kyiv and argued that the majority of the Republican caucus supported U.S. assistance to Ukraine amid concerns that they could block aid.
“I think the vast majority of the conference realizes that we either pay now or pay later, that Russian President Vladimir Putin fully intends, if he takes Ukraine, to move on to NATO-allied countries like the Baltics, Poland, and Finland,” he said.
In this July 15th photo Rep. Mike Waltz speaks on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 15, 2024 in Milwaukee, (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
However, in October 2024, Waltz said that there must be a reassessment of the United States’ aims in Ukraine.
“Is (involvement in Ukraine) in America’s interest, are we going to put in the time, the treasure, the resources that we need in the Pacific right now badly?” Waltz asked.
Waltz is one of the leading U.S. critics of China, with Trump and his allies focusing more on opposing China than the Kremlin.
"The Trump-aligned foreign policy world has been hyper-focused on China and defense policy, as well as reducing U.S. commitments to NATO," Max Bergmann, director of the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the Kyiv Independent.
"There is not a prominent Russia hand that I can think of in his orbit. Russia policy has not been a focus at all. As for Ukraine, there is some sympathy but it is also seen as a distraction from the China focus and there is a general desire to shift responsibility for supporting Ukraine to Europe."
Dubovyk said that Waltz "has both expressed support for Ukraine and voiced doubts about continuing it.”
"I think we’ll also need to wait and see which sentiments prevail overall in the White House, as Waltz could go either way regarding Ukraine," he told the Kyiv Independent.
Oleksandr Kraiev, head of the North America program at the Ukrainian Prism think-tank, also said that it was difficult to say to what extent Waltz would support Ukraine. He told the Kyiv Independent that Waltz was seen as a staunch Trump loyalist.
Rubio, a senator from Florida and a Republican candidate in the 2016 presidential election, initially condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and supported its efforts to push back Russian troops.
However, in April, he voted against the $61 billion aid package for Ukraine passed by Congress.
Kochis emphasized that, according to Rubio, he voted against the bill due to a lack of compromise with Biden on immigration, not due to his opposition to support for Ukraine.
In September, Rubio also called for achieving a peaceful settlement instead of helping Ukraine regain Russian-occupied territories.
“I’m not on Russia’s side — but, unfortunately, the reality of it is that the way the war in Ukraine is going to end is with a negotiated settlement,” Rubio told NBC.
Dubovyk and Kraiev said that Rubio is considered to be more pro-Ukrainian, compared to other Trump supporters.
"For us, it's a positive signal," Kraiev said. "He has made statements supportive of Ukraine."
Kraiev argued that Rubio, who criticized Trump in the Republican primaries, is seen as independent and is not a Trumpist "fanatic."
However, according to Dubovyk, he will likely coordinate his actions with Trump’s close allies.
"So he (Rubio) may not be one of those making key decisions," Dubovyk said.
Ruth Deyermond, senior lecturer in post-Soviet security at King's College London, argued that, regardless of Rubio's possible appointment, Trump's administration "seems likely to be dominated by individuals – including the president and vice president – who maintain positions so strongly favorable to the Kremlin."
"Even some of those individuals mentioned as possible picks who used to be very hawkish on Russia, such as Rubio, have changed their positions in recent years, aligning themselves much more with Trump," she told the Kyiv Independent.
Donald Trump watches as U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) speaks during a campaign rally at the J.S. Dorton Arena on November 04, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Another Trump pick, John Ratcliffe, also has a mixed record.
Ratcliffe, who is expected to become director of the CIA, was a Congressman from 2015 to 2020 and Trump's director of national intelligence from 2020 to 2021. Like Waltz, he is known as a China hawk.
In 2020, Ratcliffe sparked controversy by declassifying Russian disinformation that Hillary Clinton had personally approved a scheme to associate Trump with Putin and the Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee.
In 2022, however, Ratcliffe was supportive of Ukraine and criticized the Biden administration for what he saw as its weak response to Russia's full-scale invasion.
Dubovyk described Ratcliffe as a Trump loyalist who has “no independent political weight.”
Both Waltz and Rubio are seen as more ambiguous on Ukraine than Pompeo and Haley, who are among the most pro-Ukrainian Republicans, according to analysts. As a result, Trump's decision not to hire them has prompted concerns in Kyiv.
Pompeo was a member of Trump's team during his first term: as head of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2017 to 2018 and as secretary of state from 2018 to 2021.
In July, Pompeo published an op-ed claiming that Trump would support Ukraine if elected. He suggested driving down energy prices to shrink "Putin’s war-crimes budget," imposing “real” sanctions on Russia, revitalizing NATO, creating "a $500 billion lend-lease program for Ukraine," and lifting "all restrictions on the type of weapons Ukraine can obtain and use."
"(Trump's) early disclosure that he does not intend to tap Haley or Pompeo suggests he will stay away from more hawkish Republicans," Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said.
"That news is hardly surprising given Trump’s apparent determination to steer clear of the 'adults in the room' that tried to tame his isolationist and unilateralist impulses during his first term."
Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during the last day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 18, 2024. Donald Trump will get a hero's welcome Thursday as he accepts the Republican Party's nomination to run for US president in a speech capping a convention dominated by the recent attempt on his life. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images) #forowen
Deyermond agreed with this assessment.
"The announcement that Trump won't be appointing either Pompeo or Haley (together with H.R. McMaster, the strongest critics of Russia in the first Trump administration) is a confirmation of what was already obvious,” he said.
“The new Trump administration is likely to align much more with Russia than with the U.S. allies on Ukraine," he added.
Commenting on Trump's decision not to appoint Pompeo and Haley, Bergmann said that "few in his administration will want to prioritize or focus on Ukraine because of where Trump is on Russia."
"Any committed Russia hawks in the administration – if there are any – are unlikely to have much influence," he added. "The challenge will be convincing Trump to ask Congress for more military aid to Ukraine."
Meanwhile, Mykhailo Minakov, head of the Ukrainian Research Program at the Kennan Institute, said that he "would have been surprised if (Pompeo and Haley) had been invited (to join Trump's team)" because they "strongly criticized Donald Trump and did not actively support him during his campaign."
"I think it's more personal than ideological," he told the Kyiv Independent.
The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk
