Dmitry Bondarenko: A Democratic Victory In The U.S. Will Change The Situation In Ukraine And Belarus

4.11.2026, 12:38
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Very soon.

In the U.S. midterm elections, the Democrats scored a decisive victory, regaining control of both chambers of Congress. This is a serious blow to the policies of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.

The website Charter97.org spoke with Dmitry Bondarenko, coordinator of the “European Belarus” civic campaign, about the results of the U.S. midterm elections.

— No one expected the Democrats’ victory to be so crushing. Both houses of Congress will be under the party’s control. What is the secret behind the Democratic Party’s resounding success?

— Americans voted for a return to normalcy. I wouldn’t say this is a success specifically for the party, but rather for the level-headed people in America. The United States has democratic institutions that have been built up over centuries, and they have once again proven their effectiveness. The attempts by Trump—who is psychologically an autocrat and has a soft spot for dictators—to subjugate America and reshape it to his own will have failed. It is a great blessing for America that its Founding Fathers established such mechanisms and created a Constitution that allows the people to be heard and to influence the selection of those who will lead the country—from the national Congress to state legislatures and governors.

Overall, Americans have demonstrated their sound judgment and have worked to correct their mistakes. It took them only a short time to realize that, by electing Trump, some citizens had been swayed by populist promises. But today we see that the U.S. remains the world’s greatest democracy.
— What might a Democratic victory mean for our region?
— I hope for a return to a common Euro-Atlantic policy, which Trump tried to undermine. This means that cooperation between the U.S. and European countries within NATO will not only return to its previous level but will likely even strengthen.

We know that staunch Euro-Atlanticists are not limited to members of the Democratic Party. Among Republicans, experts, military officials, and political strategists, there are many supporters of strengthening NATO in the face of dictatorships such as Russia and China.
It’s still hard to say what international policy will look like overall. Today marks the start of the U.S. presidential campaign, and as of now, I am not aware of any Democrats who will run in the presidential election two years from now. At the same time, the U.S. president’s influence on foreign policy is enormous. It is clear that Trump has become not just a lame duck, but a sick duck. We can even expect impeachment proceedings to begin against him. It will now be much more difficult for Trump to carry out his despicable deals with Putin and other dictators.

The Democrats should not be underestimated. I would like to remind you that, historically, Democratic presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman led the United States and all its allies to victory over Nazi Germany and militarist Japan in World War II. There is reason to expect a resumption of support for Ukraine. Of course, not in the same form as it was under Joe Biden, but the U.S. position will become more consistent in supporting Kyiv and countering the aggression of Putin’s Russia.

In the near future, I expect that these draconian sanctions against Russia—initiated by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham—will be imposed. This is the first step that can be taken. These sanctions could be the first step toward ending the war in Ukraine—not toward a sham negotiation process, but toward actually ending it.
For Belarus, I think the U.S. election will be a blow to the dictator Lukashenko. The Belarusian dictator was psychologically close to Trump; they really are very similar. But in the U.S., the institutions functioned as they should and were able to rein in the U.S. president. Hard times are ahead for Lukashenko on a personal level as well, which we are very happy about. I think the changes that have taken place in Hungary, Serbia, and now in the U.S. will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the situation in Belarus.

— Within the Republican Party, there are already calls to abandon the MAGA ideology and return to the Reagan legacy. Is there a chance for change within this political force?

— I’m more of a right-wing person by conviction and usually support the right-wing party. If I lived in the U.S., I’d vote for the Republicans—but definitely not for Trump. It’s so paradoxical today that I’m actually happy about the Democrats’ success. I think this day will be a wake-up call for many Republicans. They’ll realize that you can’t abandon your ideals for the sake of temporary electoral success. I found it astonishing that tens or hundreds of millions of Christians in America—people with traditional views—could vote for Trump and see him as a conservative.

In my view, a man who was associated with show business and numerous scandals could in no way be a model conservative. Unlike, for example, Ronald Reagan or Senator John McCain.
On the other hand, I think the Democrats will also draw certain conclusions. There should be no return to such extreme gender politics. The rights of minorities must be guaranteed, but the excesses committed by the left wing of the Democratic Party were largely what led to Trump’s victory two years ago. It seems to me that the Republicans will now draw conclusions from what has happened and select candidates for the next presidential election. At the very least, this election will be very interesting. The next two years will be an interesting and dynamic period not only in America but throughout the world.

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