Soldiers in a Ukrainian artillery battery on the front lines of the country's east were only vaguely aware of American election results pointing to Donald Trump's victory Wednesday - but firm in their hopes for the next president of the United States.
Their entrenched artillery battery fires on Russian forces daily - and takes fire nearly as often. Just the other day, one of their overhead nets snared a Russian drone.
"I hope that the quantity of weapons, the quantity of guns for our victory will increase," the unit's 39-year-old commander, who goes by the name Mozart, said in the hours before Trump's win was confirmed . "We don't care who is the president, as long as they don't cut us off from help, because we need it."
Though Trump's election throws into doubt American support for Ukraine - and ultimately whether Kyiv can beat back Russia's invasion - the soldiers who use their Starlink connection to the internet sparingly learned of the results from Associated Press journalists.
Mozart - who other soldiers Wednesday did not give his name in keeping with Ukrainian military protocol and has given musical monikers to the battlefield positions - is among many Ukrainians who hope that Trump will hold the line on American support for their country. Russian forces have recently made gains in the east, although the commander described the front-line situation as 'static."
