US President Donald Trump has said he believes Ukraine can recapture all territories lost since Russia’s 2022 invasion in a dramatic U-turn from his previous stance.
Trump posted one of his strongest statements of support for Ukraine on Truth Social platform on Tuesday. “After getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation and, after seeing the Economic trouble it is causing Russia, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form," Trump wrote.
His upbeat assessment of the situation on the frontline came after his meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the sidelines of the UN Security Council’s session held in New York. Trump said: “Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years, a war that should have taken a Real Military Power less than a week to win.” Trump predicted that “with time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO”, Ukraine could prevail. Trump was referring to revised weapons programme of summer where European countries buy US weapons for Ukraine via NATO. The US leader also gave assessment of Russian economy, stating that Vladimir Putin and Russia are “in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act.” He also promised “to supply weapons to Nato for Nato to do what they want with them”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked Trump for his surprise support for his country, posting on X social media platform that “Mr. President clearly understands the situation and is well-informed about all aspects of this war. We highly value his resolve to help end this war.”
Trump’s statement was a dramatic shift from when he berated Zelenskiy during the Oval Office meeting in February, accused the Ukrainian leader of not being thankful to Washington and not wanting peace. Trump has also made a major U-turn from his pervious position that Ukraine might have to cede territory in order to end the war.
The Kremlin reacted to Trump’s change of course immediately, while showing a certain degree of restraint. "Apparently Trump has adopted Zelenskyi's account, and his statements are now based on this,” Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitriy Peskov told local media on Wednesday. "Russia is associated with a bear. There are no paper bears. And Russia is a real bear, There is nothing paper here.. We continue our special military operation in order to ensure our interests and achieve the goals that the supreme Commander-in-Chief Putin and the president of our country set in the very beginning,” Peskov said. Separately, in a briefing, Peskov said: "The fact that they are trying in every way to encourage Ukraine to continue military operations, and the idea that Ukraine can recapture anything, is, in our view, a misguided proposition."
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also responded to Trump’s pro-Ukrainian rhetoric. Writing on Telegram, Medvedev said Trump had "only temporarily drifted into an illusory world" - after a meeting "with the clowns from Kiev and Paris. Trump is not like that! He will return. He always returns."
Earlier, in his speech to the UN general assembly, Trump urged the EU and NATO to end the “embarrassing” purchase of Russian oil and gas. Trump also suggested NATO countries should down Russian aircraft breaching their airspace, but later said it depended on circumstances. Trump made his remarks alongside Zelenskiy, whom he described as a “brave man”.
