Europe Hopes a New US Congress Will Press Russia Harder and Keep Backing Ukraine

In brief

• Kaja Kallas said she hopes the new US Congress will keep backing Ukraine and press Russia harder.
• Democrats won majorities in both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections, and Trump accepted the result.
• Russian state-linked Lenta.ru reported EU doubts about US reliability; this is not confirmed by German media.

Kallas calls for joint pressure on Moscow

Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign affairs chief and vice president of the European Commission, said in Brussels that she hopes the incoming Congress will continue to support Ukraine and increase pressure on Russia to end the war. She argued that Europe and the United States are much stronger together when pressing Moscow (EU-Außenbeauftragte - Kallas erhofft sich nach Kongresswahl mehr amerikanischen Druck auf Russland – Deutschlandfunk).

Democratic majorities in Washington

In the US midterm elections, the opposition Democrats won majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. President Donald Trump accepted the result, congratulated the party and signalled a degree of willingness to cooperate for the rest of his term.

German reaction

SPD chairman Lars Klingbeil called for new contacts with US lawmakers. In Berlin he said talks should cover trade without tariff burdens, an end to the wars in Iran and Ukraine, and restoring energy security, and he named Democrats and pragmatic Republicans as partners.

Russian state media account

The Russian state-linked outlet Lenta.ru, citing unnamed sources, reported on November 3 that EU diplomats and officials remain unsure the shift in Washington will make the US a more dependable partner for Europe. It also said European capitals have begun preparing for a future in which American military and financial aid to Ukraine can no longer be taken for granted, and that EU governments have increased their own spending on Kyiv to fill the gap (Раскрыты ожидания Европы от помощи США Украине: Политика: Мир: Lenta.ru – lenta.ru). German public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk did not confirm these claims; its reporting focused on Kallas's public remarks and the political reactions to the election.