Trump Flips the Script: Says Ukraine Can Take Back “All Its Land”

After a sit-down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, President Donald Trump posted a sweeping new take on the war: with Europe’s help, he now believes Ukraine can win back all of its territory from Russia — “the original Borders from where this War started,” as he put it on Truth Social.

It’s a sharp turn from months of hinting that Kyiv would likely have to trade land for peace.

“After getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation… 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, calling Russia a “paper tiger” in “BIG Economic trouble.”

He added that with NATO’s financial support, restoring Ukraine’s borders is “very much an option,” and said the US would continue to supply weapons to NATO “for NATO to do what they want with them.”

Zelenskyy didn’t tiptoe around it:

“It’s a big shift. Very positive.”

French President Emmanuel Macron, who also met Trump Tuesday, applauded the statement:

“If we back completely Ukraine… there is this opportunity of a good future.” Trump replied, “I really do feel that way. Let them get their land back.”

Trump didn’t spell out whether “original borders” means pre-February 2022 lines or also includes Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014. The White House didn’t immediately comment. For months, Trump had floated ideas like “swapping” territory and suggested Kyiv “did not have the cards” to prevail in a war of attrition. As recently as August, he mused about “some switching of territories” as part of a cease-fire.

Hours before posting, Trump urged NATO allies to shoot down Russian aircraft that breach their airspace — a hard line after recent drone and jet incursions over Poland, Estonia, and Romania (Moscow denies deliberate violations). Asked whether the US would back allies if things escalated, he said it would “depend on the circumstance,” even as he praised NATO for stepping up defense spending. From the UN podium, Trump also scolded European countries still buying Russian energy: “funding a war against themselves.”

Trump argued Russia’s economy is straining and its military underperforming — “a War that should have taken a Real Military Power less than a week to win.” If Russian citizens grasp the costs, he suggested, Ukraine’s path to reversing the invasion widens — “maybe even go further than that,” he teased, without details.

Traditional GOP hawks cheered the shift. Several senators amplified that Ukraine can win and pushed for stiffer Russia sanctions and penalties on buyers of Russian oil. A bipartisan package has been waiting on a clearer green light from the White House.

Ahead of UNGA, the Ukrainian leader pressed for secondary sanctions and more air defenses and drones, citing fresh missile and drone strikes. He said he understands Washington is willing to discuss security guarantees “after the war is finished,” but “we don’t have specific details.”

Trump’s messages on Ukraine have zig-zagged for months. He has dangled tougher measures on Moscow while criticizing Europe’s pace, and he’s tried to midwife talks with Vladimir Putin — including a headline summit in Alaska — that never produced direct Kyiv–Moscow negotiations. On Tuesday, he sounded newly confident about Ukraine’s prospects yet framed the war as Europe’s burden first: the US will arm NATO, and NATO can pass weapons along.

The open questions

• Does “all its land” include Crimea?
• Will the administration push Congress on the sanctions package — or await more European action first?
• How far will the US go if NATO downing a Russian drone or jet triggers a crisis, given Trump’s “depends on the circumstance” caveat?

For now, the headline is simple: after months of talking swaps and compromises, the president says Ukraine can win it all back. How that translates from Truth Social to policy — funding, sanctions, air-defense deliveries, and allied rules of engagement — is where this “big shift” will be tested.

With input from AP, Politico, Axios, ABC News, NBC News, and BBC.