Austria

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed hope that Democratic gains in the United States midterm ⁠elections will bring ⁠more help for Kyiv, as European officials urged the new US Congress to ramp up pressure on Russia to end Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II.

Zelenskyy’s comments on Wednesday came after American voters rebuked US President Donald Trump and his Republican Party, handing control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives to the Democratic Party.

In an interview with German broadcaster ZDF, Zelenskyy said the Democratic gains could work to Ukraine’s advantage.

“I am also grateful to the Republicans, but the Democrats speak very clearly about supporting Ukraine and providing assistance to Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.  “They speak about renewing the connection between the United States and Europe… Therefore, there is hope that a balance of power will emerge, and that we will receive more support.”

Zelenskyy said more US aid could have an effect ‌on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“If Congress now speaks of strong financial support or military assistance, as Europe is doing and demonstrating today, then that will be something positive that will have an impact on Putin,” he told ZDF.

Zelenskyy has worked to repair a rocky relationship with Trump since an Oval Office meeting in February 2025 at which the US president accused his Ukrainian counterpart of being “ungrateful” for Washington’s aid.

Pressure on Russia

In recent weeks, Trump has made several moves favourable to Russia, including a deal to import Russian diesel.

Last month, he waived sanctions on Russia that Congress had overwhelmingly approved as part of legislation supporting Ukraine.

Ukraine has also accused Washington of delaying deliveries of interceptor missiles.

Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said she hoped the new Congress would “continue supporting Ukraine and also putting more pressure on Russia”.

“Europe as well as US, we are much stronger together,” Kallas said, expressing hope that joint pressure would force Moscow to end the war.

In Germany, leaders were divided. Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed scepticism on Wednesday that Trump would change course despite the Democrats’ sweeping victory.

“Quite frankly, over the last two years, Trump has largely governed by bypassing Congress. Why should that be any different now?” Merz said at an event in Berlin, a day after US voters handed Republicans a historic defeat.

His foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, was more hopeful. He said the “very clear” Democratic victory could create “a new opportunity to launch a fresh initiative” to end the wars in Ukraine and Iran. He added that he was “quite optimistic” that aid to Ukraine, which has been slashed under Trump, would get “more discussion” from US lawmakers of both parties.

Scepticism

Others in Europe cautioned that with Trump in office for two more years, Washington’s foreign policy was unlikely to change quickly.

The US president has berated European leaders, roiled their economies with tariffs, threatened to pull the US out of NATO, and said he wants to take over Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of Denmark.

“Our security and prosperity in Austria and Europe must not depend on how people in Kansas or Iowa vote,” Austria’s foreign minister, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, said. “That’s why we are strengthening our own defence capability and our own competitiveness.”

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia hoped Trump “will continue his peacemaking efforts”, regardless of the election result.

Democratic aides have told US media that helping Kyiv would be a priority when the party takes control of the congressional agenda in January. But diplomacy is moving faster.

Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy, said Washington would bring Ukrainian and Russian delegations together in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11 to discuss ending the war and security arrangements for Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that he has had detailed conversations with Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, ahead of the meeting.

“The negotiations must move forward at full throttle to bring this war to an end as quickly as possible. Ukraine is ready to take the necessary steps,” he wrote on X.

What in the name of common sense is a 16-year-old who lives in Venice dreaming about competing in the Olympic Games as a snowboarder instead of a skateboarder or surfer?

“I really liked skateboarding but needed something more exhilarating flying into the air,” said Tristam Henkels, who’s been spending this month training in Switzerland and Austria as a member of the U.S. snowboard rookie team for halfpipe.

He used to spend nine hours a day skateboarding at a park in Santa Monica. He watched snowboarder Chloe Kim compete at the Mammoth Mountain World Cup shortly before her gold-medal performance at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.

Then his mother, Judy, decided to become his chauffeur when he was 10, taking him to Big Bear to practice snowboarding. She’s still traveling with Tristam, who’s enrolled in an online school but prefers snowboarding over everything else. He previously attended Canyon Elementary School in Santa Monica.

He’s so obsessed with being the best that three broken arms suffered from falls, along with a compression back fracture, hardly deters him to think twice about flying through the air trying to perform tricks. He did admit that hitting ice feels like hitting concrete, so he has learned to be careful and hasn’t had any major injuries in the last three years.

“If you fall and get back up, you’re going to be stronger the next time,” he said of his philosophy during a phone conversation from Switzerland.

There will be lots of competition for a 2030 Olympic team berth in France. Henkels is working his way up in a sport filled with talented athletes who have to maneuver their bodies like a gymnast in pursuit of a perfect score of 100 from the judges.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.