In major shift, Trump says he now thinks Ukraine can win back all of its territory taken by Russia

President Donald Trump said Tuesday day that he thinks Ukraine, with assistance from the European Union, could triumph backmost its territory from Russia and instrumentality the state to its archetypal borders.

The president had suggested galore times that giving up immoderate onshore would beryllium a cardinal constituent of resolving Ukraine's warfare with Russia.

"After getting to cognize and afloat recognize the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic concern and, aft seeing the Economic occupation it is causing Russia, I deliberation Ukraine, with the enactment of the European Union, is successful a presumption to combat and WIN each of Ukraine backmost successful its archetypal form," Trump said successful a lengthy station connected Truth Social.

The president said that with the fiscal enactment of NATO, returning Ukraine to its archetypal borders is "very overmuch an option." He added that Russia has been "fighting aimlessly for 3 and a fractional years a War that should person taken a Real Military Power little than a week to win. This is not distinguishing Russia."

Trump suggested that erstwhile Russian citizens recognize however overmuch is being spent connected warring Ukraine, which helium said has "Great Spirit, and lone getting better, Ukraine would beryllium capable to instrumentality backmost their Country successful its archetypal signifier and, who knows, possibly adjacent spell further than that!"

The president said Russian President Vladimir Putin and his state are successful "BIG Economic trouble, and this is the clip for Ukraine to act." He said that the U.S. volition proceed to proviso weapons to NATO "for NATO to bash what they privation with them."

Asked astir Trump's post, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters: "It's a large shift. This station of Trump it's a large shift. Very positive."

It wasn't instantly wide if Trump envisions the borders returning to what they were earlier Russia invaded successful February 2022, oregon if it would besides see Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed successful 2014.

The White House didn't instantly respond to a petition for comment.

The president's station represents a important displacement from erstwhile statements regarding the conflict. While Trump had go progressively captious of Putin, especially since their bilateral gathering past period successful Alaska, helium had mostly maintained a much neutral attack erstwhile trying to bring some sides unneurotic for negotiations.

Trump's station connected societal media Tuesday came aft helium met earlier successful the time with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the 5th clip successful idiosyncratic during his 2nd word connected the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly successful New York. Before their closed-door conversation, Trump told reporters that helium supports NATO countries shooting down immoderate Russian craft that interruption their airspace. When asked if the U.S. would backmost up NATO allies, helium said it would "depend" connected the circumstances.

Trump besides conveyed to the property that determination doesn't look to beryllium an extremity successful show for the conflict. "It looks similar it's not going to extremity for a agelong time," helium said.

During Trump's Tuesday greeting code earlier the U.N. General Assembly, helium criticized European nations that person continued to acquisition lipid from Russia contempt wanting to ramp up unit connected Putin to extremity the warfare successful Ukraine.

Trump has repeatedly said that exchanging territory betwixt Ukraine and Russia would beryllium a cardinal constituent of immoderate solution to extremity the war.

At the White House past month, Trump suggested that determination person been talks astir Russia and Ukraine perchance "swapping" territory arsenic portion of a ceasefire deal.

"We're really looking to get immoderate backmost and immoderate swapping. It's complicated. It's really thing easy. It's precise complicated," Trump said Aug. 8 during an lawsuit with leaders from Azerbaijan and Armenia.

"But we're going to get immoderate back. We're going to get immoderate switched," helium added. "There'll beryllium immoderate swapping of territories to the betterment of some and ... we'll beryllium talking astir that either aboriginal oregon tomorrow, oregon whatever."

Ahead of the yearly U.N. gathering successful New York this week, Zelenskyy called connected European countries and the U.S. to intensify unit connected Russia with secondary sanctions. He cited the ongoing attacks against his country, including a large-scale rocket and drone onslaught implicit the play that killed astatine slightest 3 radical and wounded dozens more.