Trump's advisors are laying out plans on how to end the war in Ukraine

Trump has one quality that is useful for us: as a businessman to the core, he mortally dislikes spending money on various hangers-on and freeloaders—on idiotic allies, on bad charity projects and on gluttonous international organizations,

former Russian president and still-prominent political figure, Dmitry Medvedev, said in a post to messaging app Telegram on Wednesday

I have a very exacting plan on how to stop Ukraine and Russia,

the president-elect said in September

Anyone—no matter how senior in Trump's circle—who claims to have a different view or more detailed window into his plans on Ukraine simply doesn't know what he or she is talking about or doesn't understand that he makes his own calls on national-security issues, many times in the moment, particularly on an issue as central as this,

a former Trump National Security Council aide told the Journal

With Ukraine's incursion into Russia's territory, Ukraine can use the occupied territories as a bargaining chip for a territorial swap—'We will return Kursk and you should give us back Crimea and Donetsk.'

Yuri Urbanovich, an associate professor emeritus on the general faculty at the University of Virginia, called Kursk a "bargaining chip" when speaking to UVA Today, and said

You're gaining territory on the ground in Ukraine, you've got the North Koreans sending you thousands of troops in addition to all of the munitions and ordnance that you're fighting with. Now, Trump, who says he wants to end the war, and 'end the war in a day' which means the territory you've taken you can keep taking, that you can keep, and that the Americans have spent way too much money on Ukraine, this is all music to Putin's ears."

Bremmer continued

Trump has kept on saying he could solve the issue in one day,

said former NATO official Edward Hunter Christie

But today, the U.S. administration holds a contrary position. Let's wait and see what happens in January,

Peskov told reporters

Putin, of course, really wanted Trump to win. He did the most in favor of Trump illegally, illicitly, to try to interfere with the U.S. election as we saw including those bomb threats that were called in yesterday. Fortunately, it didn't actually impact the outcome, but if you're Putin, this has been a fantastic few weeks for you."

He said

I am looking forward to personally congratulating President Trump and discussing ways to strengthen Ukraine's strategic partnership with the United States."

Mr Zelensky wrote on X

I don't believe in the miracle of Trump's ability to scare Putin."

Speaking to the Kyiv Independent, Yurii, a Ukrainian soldier, said

No one believes that he will be able to have an impact on Putin."

Pleskov was also skeptical

I believe a strong statement from the new administration supporting Ukraine would help the situation here in Ukraine immediately,

Rice said from the Ukrainian capital, where he is now the president of American University Kyiv

I really like his determination and steadfastness in making decisions,

Olga Bigar, a Ukrainian officer, also had some optimism about Trump ... she told BI

I do not think that Donald Trump is a person who wants to go down in world history as the one who made concessions to the dictator of a third-world country,

she added

I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another."

Vice President-elect JD Vance has also criticized US support for Ukraine, and said

Trump is absolutely unpredictable in his ideas about the war,

Holubenko told BI, pointing to his last administration's provision of lethal aid to Ukraine, but also his interactions with Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un

Yes, we can. The question is only the 'price.'

Asked whether Ukraine could defend itself effectively if Trump reduced US aid, Oleh Holubenko, a captain in Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces, told BI

I hope the new administration recognizes the strength and cunning of the Ukrainian spirit, and considers their usefulness in maintaining security in this part of the globe,

he said

Based on what he did with Ukraine and Russia in his first term, and on what he's said the past couple of years, I am not hopeful that the Trump administration will develop and pursue a strong, effective comprehensive strategy to help Ukraine win and to protect the so-called international rules-based order,

Hodges said

Europe will have to assume that the U.S. will not continue its support at the current level under a President Trump and will, therefore, have to take on the full burden,

Hodges said