Ukraine could be forced to strike a deal with Vladimir Putin after Donald Trump’s victory, a senior Conservative has warned.
Lord Hammond, who served as the UK’s defence secretary and foreign secretary, also claimed the world was more dangerous following the US presidential election result.
The Tory grandee insisted the outcome was a boost for Russia and added: ‘I suspect some of the biggest celebrations will have been in the Kremlin.
‘There is also no doubt [Trump] will have a deal brokered by himself in mind that will resolve the situation in Ukraine.
‘For the rest of us in Europe, it is a lot more than Ukraine; it is about our ability to live in peace, to live without a continuous threat from our large and aggressive eastern neighbour.
‘If Putin is allowed to win in Ukraine, I do not think Nato’s eastern border is stable and secure.’
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks as he attends a Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting on September 6, 2024
Russia boasted that Trump’s election would probably be bad news for Ukraine. Pictured: Vladimir Putin, applauds during a remote ceremony to launch the Arktika-class nuclear-powered icebreaker Chukotka, from the Kremlin on Wednesday
Donald Trump (pictured on Wednesday) previously threatened to withdraw from NATO and could cut funding to Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelensky was among the first international leaders to congratulate Mr Trump, saying he appreciated his 'commitment to peace through strength' approach in global affairs. The Ukrainian president added: 'This is exactly the principle that can bring just peace in Ukraine closer.'
However, senior security sources fear the offer presented to Ukraine could be far from 'just'.
Additionally, a Trump administration would also likely oppose Ukrainian membership of Nato, which Mr Zelensky has repeated called for since the Russian invasion in 2022.
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Russia boasts a Trump victory is bad news for Ukraine
Lord Hammond also called for Britain and other Western states to increase support for Ukraine should, as is widely feared, the United States reduces or cancels military aid.
He served as defence secretary from 2010 to 2014, the year Russia invaded Crimea.
Subsequently as the UK's foreign secretary in 2016, Lord Hammond criticised Russia's annexation of the peninsula and called for the Kremlin to return Crimea. The UK also supported sanctions against Russia for its initial offensive into Ukrainian territory.
In an alarming indication of how Mr Trump's return to the White House could influence Russian foreign policy, Kremlin officials celebrated his election victory. Writing on messaging app Telegram, Russian foreign ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova said: 'Weeping may remain in the night, but joy comes in the morning. Hallelujah, I would add for myself.'
Leonid Slutsky, head of the Russian parliament's foreign affairs committee, predicted Mr Trump's victory could trigger the collapse of the Ukrainian government and an end to Western aid.
He said: 'Judging by the pre-election rhetoric, the Republican team is not going to throw more and more American taxpayer money into the furnace of the proxy war against Russia.'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last night said he had an ‘excellent’ call with Donald Trump and ‘congratulated him on his historic landslide victory’ and ‘tremendous campaign made this result possible’.
He added: ‘I praised his family and team for their great work.
‘We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation. Strong and unwavering U.S. leadership is vital for the world and for a just peace.’
Since Russia's invasion in February 2022, the US has spent £40billion on security aid to Ukraine.
Pro-Trump Republican lawmakers held up recent assistance packages, while Vice President-elect JD Vance has been one of the leading voices in the US opposing continued support for Ukraine. He has also called for the country to concede territory to Russia as part of a peace deal – a suggestion that Mr Zelensky dismissed as 'too radical'.
A Kremlin official said yesterday Russia would aim to 'achieve its goals' in Ukraine following Mr Trump's victory.
Ukrainian troops fire a Leopard 2A4 tank during training in Ukraine on October 27
Rescuers teams inspect the remains of a building after a strike in Kharkiv, on November 1, 2024
Residential buildings, damaged in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, is seen in a village of Pisky in the Donetsk region, Russian-controlled Ukraine, November 1, 2024
A Ukrainian soldier places a claymore landmine along the frontline in Donetsk region, Oct 30
Putin has no immediate plans to congratulate Trump on his victory, according to the Kremlin (pictured: The pair at the G20 summit in June 2019)
Kamala Harris (left) with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (right) in September
Oleksandr Merezhko, chair of Ukraine's foreign affairs committee, said his country had no choice but to go on resisting Russia, with or without US support.
He said: 'We will continue in any case because it is about our survival. We don't have any choice. If we stop, we lose our state and we will be exterminated as a nation.'
Ukraine is at a precarious stage, having lost around a third of the territory it seized in the southern Russian province of Kursk while Kremlin troops are continuing to make gains in eastern Ukraine.
Putin remains committed to capturing the 'Donbas' region of eastern Ukraine in full, an objective he may be able to achieve in 2025 should the US reduce or withdraw military aid.
Ukrainian commanders have repeatedly stressed the situation on the frontline is 'difficult' and say that certain areas require a constant renewal of resources.
Such a replenishment would be difficult without US support.
Meanwhile, Russia is bolstering resources with as many as 10,000 North Korean troops, as well as rockets from Iran and technological components from China.