President Trump declared Tuesday {that a} resilient Ukraine can drive Russian troops out of all of the territory it has seized, an enormous shift from his earlier pessimistic name for Kyiv to cede a lot of land to the invaders.
After an upbeat assembly with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump struck a particularly bullish stance on Ukraine’s place within the warfare that has dragged on for greater than three years.
“Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back,” Trump wrote on his social media web site. “Ukraine [should] be able to take back their Country in its original form and, who knows, maybe even go further than that! Putin and Russia are in big economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act.”
Trump belittled Russia for failing to rapidly win the warfare that it unleashed in opposition to its smaller neighbor in 2022.
“[It] would have taken a real military power less than a week to win. This is not distinguishing Russia,” he added. “In fact, it is very much making them look like ‘a paper tiger.’ ”
President Donald Trump speaks whereas assembly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy throughout the United Nations Normal Meeting, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, in New York. (AP Photograph/Evan Vucci)
It’s unclear if the assertion marks a brand new coverage for Trump, who admits being upset that he has failed to influence Russian President Vladimir Putin to finish the warfare.
Trump beforehand piled strain on Zelenskyy to agree to surrender land for peace and has stated Russia could be making a significant concession to forgo persevering with the warfare with the eventual objective of seizing all of Ukraine.
If Trump sticks to the brand new stance, it will mark an enormous win for Zelenskyy as he tries to win assist for his combat to drive Russia out of Ukraine.
Trump additionally stated he believed NATO nations ought to shoot down Russian drones or plane that make incursions into their territory.
Putin has shrugged off Trump’s pleas for peace and made no main concessions at their latest much-hyped Alaska summit.
Zelenskyy claimed Ukrainian troops have mounted profitable counterattacks on the entrance strains within the contested japanese Donbas area after the Russians had made advances in a grinding summer season offensive.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks whereas assembly with President Donald Trump meets throughout the United Nations Normal Meeting, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, in New York. (AP Photograph/Evan Vucci)
In his assembly with Trump on the sidelines of the UN Normal Meeting, Zelenskyy was searching for further assist in defending his nation from Russia’s onslaught of missiles, drones and bombs.
The 2 presidents greeted one another warmly, seemingly placing apart the acrimony that marked their squabble on the White Home final winter that led Trump to quickly halt safety help.
Initially Printed: September 23, 2025 at 4:02 PM EDT
