When America’s top news organizations proclaimed former Vice President Joseph Biden the winner of the 2020 U.S. presidential election on Nov. 7, world leaders responded with congratulations.
In Ukraine, a country that Biden visited six times while serving as vice president, political leaders lauded his electoral victory, while many politicians and officials were quick to publish the photos they had taken with Biden during his many visits to the country.
Among the first was President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Congratulations to @JoeBiden @KamalaHarris! #Ukraine is optimistic about the future of the strategic partnership with the #UnitedStates. 🇺🇦 and 🇺🇸 have always collaborated on security, trade, investment, democracy, fight against corruption. Our friendship becomes only stronger!
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 7, 2020
In a Facebook message, former President Petro Poroshenko, who met and communicated with Biden extensively during his term in office, also congratulated the new president-elect.
“My warmest congratulations to Joe Biden — a fighter, a statesmen, and a US President-elect!” he wrote. “It was spectacular, although tough… campaign that both candidates made unparalleled and intriguing at every step. This is democracy. And this is an example we follow in Ukraine against the existential challenges we still face.”
“Ukraine is blessed to have a US President with so profound and personal knowledge of our country. With a firm US bipartisan support of Ukraine to stay strong, we look very much forwards to a committed transatlantic leadership of the United States to secure the Free World.
“Know that in Ukraine you have good friends and allies in this endeavor!”
Dmytro Razumkov, speaker of Ukraine’s parliament, directed his congratulations to the American public.
Congratulations to American people on #US Presidential elections! They were marked by a record number of those willing to exercise their voting right. This is what transparent democracy in action means. Convinced in continuation of strategic cooperation between our countries! 🇺🇸
— Dmytro Razumkov (@DRazumkov) November 8, 2020
“Congratulations Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff, wrote on Facebook. “Although our countries are an ocean apart, we are united by an unbreakable bond of common values and a strong interest to protect and promote freedom. We look forward to seeing you in Kyiv!”
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko also hailed Biden’s victory.
“I sincerely congratulate Joe Biden on his victory in the U.S. presidential election,” Klitschko wrote on Facebook. “I had the honor to meet with him both in the United States and in Ukraine. And I respect him as a person and a politician who consistently supports Ukraine in its battle against Russian aggression and it’s reform process. Joe Biden knows our country well and is sympathetic to it.”
“For this reason, I believe in the progress of the partner relations between our countries and in effective cooperation in Ukraine’s struggle for its territorial integrity and the implementation of necessary reforms and democratic transformations.”
