TL;DR : Trump said Ukraine can win back all its land from Russia due to Moscow’s economic troubles, calling Russia a "paper tiger." This marks a major shift from his earlier stance urging Ukraine to trade land for peace. Zelenskiy welcomed the comments as a “big shift,” but no concrete U.S. policy changes have followed yet.
Trump Says Ukraine Can Retake All Land
- Trump declared Ukraine can “fight and WIN all of Ukraine back,” pointing to Russia’s “BIG Economic trouble” and calling it a “paper tiger.”
- This reverses his earlier view that Ukraine should give up territory for peace.
Meeting with Zelenskiy
- Zelenskiy called the meeting “good, constructive” and said Trump’s stance is a “big shift.”
- They discussed Russia’s economic weakness and possible U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine after the war.
- Zelenskiy said Trump now trusts Ukrainian intelligence over Russian sources.
U.S. Policy Angle
- No confirmed policy change: no new sanctions or direct military commitments.
- Trump did stress continuing U.S. weapons supply to NATO, leaving Europe to channel arms to Ukraine.
Reaction
- Russia’s U.N. envoy downplayed the remarks: “Don’t get so excited about every tweet.”
- The rhetoric clashes with Trump’s conciliatory meeting with Putin in Alaska just last month.