Ukraine can regain all its occupied territories” — Trump’s dramatic shift in tone

However, Trump’s words did not indicate any change in U.S. policy, such as imposing the new tough sanctions against Russia requested by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is visiting New York this week.

“Putin and Russia are in big economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act,” Trump wrote on Truth Social after meeting Zelenskiy on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

He added, “Seeing the economic disaster the war has caused Russia, I believe Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, can fight and WIN, taking back all its original borders.”

This implies Ukraine reclaiming 20% of its territory currently occupied by Russia — including the Crimean Peninsula, held by Moscow since 2014. Such a move would be a dramatic reversal. Previously, Trump had suggested that Ukraine might consider ceding territory to make peace, sparking fears of behind-the-scenes negotiations that could seek to legitimize Russia’s occupied lands.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, praised Trump’s remarks, saying: “These are very strong statements we have not heard before in such formats. It is truly good that we now have the same understanding.”

Good, Constructive Meeting

Trump’s tone stood in stark contrast to his red-carpet reception for Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Alaska last month, seen as part of a push to expedite an end to the war in Ukraine.

Zelenskiy told reporters that his meeting with Trump was “good and constructive,” though he declined to go into detail. He described Trump’s Truth Social post as a “big shift.” Later, in an interview with Fox News, Zelenskiy said the positions of the Ukrainian and U.S. teams were “closer than ever before” and that he believed Trump’s stance had changed.

A U.S. statement criticized Russia, saying that a “real military power” would have won the war in less than a week, while Russia has been “fighting aimlessly.” Trump added that this made Russia look very much like a “paper tiger.”

Nevertheless, Trump’s only clear commitment on Truth Social was: “We will continue to supply weapons to NATO for NATO to do what they want with them.” This appeared to reference a new mechanism allowing European countries to purchase U.S. weapons for Ukraine.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the United Nations Security Council that the United States still had not given up hope for a peaceful resolution.
“This war must end. But if it does not, if there is no path to peace in the short term, then the United States and President Donald J. Trump will take the necessary steps to impose costs for continued aggression.”

Zelenskiy reiterated at the UN his call for the U.S. to ramp up sanctions pressure on Russia to force Moscow into negotiations.

In his General Assembly address, Trump said he was ready to impose strong economic measures if Russia did not end the war, but insisted that allies must do the same. He also mocked some European powers for continuing to buy Russian oil.

Zelenskiy said he and Trump had discussed Russia’s struggling economy and that “there was an understanding” that Trump would be ready to provide security guarantees to Ukraine once the war ends.

He added that Trump had the power to be a “game-changer” for Ukraine in the war. Zelenskiy also noted that China still had influence over Russia, though he said he had seen no sign that Beijing wanted the war to end.

Speaking to reporters, Russia’s Deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy downplayed the significance of Trump’s Truth Social post.
“Don’t get so excited about every tweet,” Polyanskiy said.

Former Democratic Congressman Tom Malinowski called Trump’s statement “an amazing 180-degree turn, which might not last long.”

Malinowski, also a former Assistant Secretary of State, wrote on X: “But Putin will have only one question in return: What more is Trump actually going to do to help Ukraine win? If nothing, then it’s just words.”