Three days after Donald Trump’s humiliating midterm defeat, the political dust is beginning to settle in Washington, while here in Dnipro, however, we’re still clearing up the damage from Russian attacks on the infrastructure keeping our cities alive.
Democrats have secured control of both chambers of Congress, delivering a devastating rejection of Trump’s presidency, yet his response to the American electorate’s damning verdict was remarkably dismissive.
“But I don’t view it as a hit on me.” — Donald Trump, speaking to Fox News following the midterm elections.
An extraordinary response from a president whose party has just suffered such a humiliating defeat, while also appearing determined to distance himself from the political consequences, meanwhile Ukrainians are facing another winter of Russian missiles, drones and increasingly systematic attacks against their electricity and heating networks.
America, delivering its verdict, but Trump still doesn’t appear to be listening.
On 3 November, shortly after 3am, I witnessed and filmed a series of enormous explosions as Russian forces attacked energy infrastructure approximately two kilometres from my location in Dnipro. The scenes were disturbingly reminiscent of Mariupol, where I fought during the siege in 2022 before being captured by Russian forces.
Russia strikes Ukraine’s power infrastructure as Trump’s grip on Washington weakens
Four years later, the same tactics are being employed against another Ukrainian city, destroy the electricity, disrupt the water supply, overwhelm civilian resilience and make ordinary life increasingly unbearable, and all this while Washington continues talking about peace, even as recently as yesterday, 5th November.
When a journalist questioned Donald Trump about Russia’s continuing attacks on Ukrainian civilians, including the bombing campaign devastating our cities, the president’s response was revealing. Rather than concentrating on Moscow’s actions, he immediately shifted attention to Ukraine, pointing out that Russian civilians were also being killed.
“Russians are losing civilians also,” Trump declared.
Credit to the Journalist 👏 even though Trump instantly deflected to Ukraine 🇺🇦 https://t.co/YjKHJs4yVL
— Shaun Pinner (@ShaunPinnerUA) November 6, 2026
An extraordinary response from the American president, particularly when the UN has already identified Russia’s systematic attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Only hours earlier, Trump had met Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev at the White House, while Ukrainian officials visiting Washington received no equivalent meeting with the president, and therein lies the problem.
Russia continues bombing power stations, killing civilians and preparing to leave millions facing another freezing winter, while the White House talks about peace and appears more interested in balancing the blame than confronting the aggressor.
It’s worth pointing out that Russia has made no meaningful concessions, yet Washington continues treating Moscow as though it has.
As I pointed out earlier, The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine has already concluded that Russia’s systematic attacks against energy infrastructure constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity, yet Moscow’s response has been to continue bombing facilities upon which millions of civilians depend.
Only days earlier, fifteen people were reportedly killed while waiting for a train at Dnipro railway station, while in Komyshuvakha, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Russian glide bombs struck a former school being used to distribute humanitarian assistance, killing at least 43 people, with five reported injured and dozens still feared buried beneath the rubble.
I’m sorry, this is absolute bullshit…..
It’s a slap in the face to Ukrainians and democracy everywhere, this is a toddler murdered in their stroller by Russia pic.twitter.com/V3eia9e3yq
— Shaun Pinner (@ShaunPinnerUA) November 6, 2026
Among the dead were police officers and emergency workers who had rushed to help, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemning the attack, warning:
“Russia continues to kill people.”
He described the bombing as further evidence that Moscow had no genuine interest in de-escalation, particularly following the recent humanitarian operation in Oleshky, and yet, while civilians are being massacred collecting food and essential supplies, Washington continues discussing peace and deals with the very country responsible.
From my own perspective, these are not the actions of a country demonstrating any meaningful commitment to ending its aggression, yet Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner continue pursuing negotiations with Moscow, raising serious questions about Washington’s priorities and whether the Kremlin is being offered diplomatic opportunities without corresponding concessions.
The forthcoming talks will provide another test of that approach, Russia has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to negotiate while continuing military operations, using diplomacy to buy time rather than necessarily pursuing a sustainable settlement, but Trump’s electoral defeat could now fundamentally change those political calculations.
When the incoming Congress takes office in January, Democrats will have greater powers to investigate administration decisions, scrutinise sanctions policy, examine military assistance and demand explanations about negotiations with Russia.
And the pressure is already coming from within Trump’s own party, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, a persistent critic of the administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, announced on 5 November that he expects sufficient support to force another congressional vote.
“Survivors will be able to get their own records, State Attorneys General can prosecute crimes, and we can take the DOJ to court for keeping critical files hidden.” — Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, 5 November 2026.
Massie’s determination to pursue the matter, despite opposition from within his own party, illustrates how Trump’s political difficulties may extend well beyond the Democrats’ electoral victory. For a president already facing growing scrutiny over his administration’s conduct, the prospect of congressional investigations, subpoenas and further disclosures could make the remaining two years of his presidency considerably more uncomfortable.
The irony is also extraordinary, Donald Trump spent months questioning Zelenskyy’s legitimacy and calling for Ukraine to have a new president, yet now finds himself politically wounded, facing the prospect of becoming a lame-duck president after a humiliating midterm defeat.
The man demanding political change in Kyiv has just been handed a damning verdict by his own electorate, and judging by his response, he still hasn’t got the message.
For a White House that has operated with limited congressional resistance, that could prove deeply uncomfortable, but Ukraine cannot afford to wait until January, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already highlighted the urgent requirement for additional Patriot interceptors and billions in previously promised assistance. This determines whether Ukrainian air defences can intercept the next Russian missile before it reaches a residential neighbourhood or power station.
For Britain and Europe, the implications are equally significant, a politically weakened American president does not automatically mean a more dependable Washington as Congressional confrontation could strengthen oversight, but it could also delay decisions and create precisely the uncertainty Moscow hopes to exploit.
European governments must therefore accelerate defence production, maintain sanctions pressure and ensure Ukraine receives practical assistance rather than another succession of reassuring announcements synonymous with a White House who’s lost faith at home.
As my platoon commander once told me, “If you rely on hope, you haven’t planned hard enough.”
The American electorate has delivered its damning verdict on Donald Trump’s presidency, yet his response suggests a man still unwilling to listen, accept responsibility or acknowledge why voters have turned against his party, and that should concern us all, particularly here in Ukraine, where his administration continues pursuing negotiations with Moscow while Russia bombs our cities and prepares to freeze millions of civilians this winter.
Trump may choose to dismiss the message from American voters, but the consequences of his decisions extend far beyond Washington, and a president who refuses to even listen to his own electorate, is hardly likely to listen to Ukrainians living under Russian bombardment.
America’s political landscape may have changed, but Russia’s war hasn’tt, and unless Trump starts listening, accepting reality and turning his promises into meaningful action, which I am not expecting to happen anytime soon, Ukrainians will continue paying the price for his failures, certainly until the next offensive in probably spring next year.
Washington will never hold Putin accountable, that much is becoming painfully obvious, and with the new Congress not taking office until January 2027, Europe must finally come to terms with that reality.
Either European leaders take responsibility for their own security, stand firmly behind Ukraine and impose meaningful consequences on Moscow, or they continue allowing the Kremlin to dictate the terms while Russian forces bomb our cities, destroy civilian infrastructure and murder innocent people with impunity.
America has delivered its verdict, now Europe must decide whether it is prepared to act.
Roll on 2027.
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