United States President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Ukraine – with the support of the European Union and NATO – can win back its territory captured by Russia since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, in a dramatic U-turn from his previous position that both sides will have to cede land to end the war.
Here’s a closer look at what Trump is saying now and how his position has shifted.
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Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA): “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 even mentioned NATO, which he has often criticised in the past: “With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original Borders from where this War started, is very much an option.”
He also took aim at Russia, saying it has been fighting the war “aimlessly” and looks like a “paper tiger”. A paper tiger is someone or something which appears intimidating but does not pose much of a real threat.
The war in Ukraine has raged since February 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion into the country, which it described as a “special military operation”.
Trump said that the war would have taken a “Real Military Power” less than a week to win.
“Ukraine would 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.”
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Trump closed his post, saying: “In any event, I wish both Countries well. We will continue to supply weapons to NATO for NATO to do what they want with them. Good luck to all!”
In a post on X, Zelenskyy reflected on his meeting with Trump, saying: “I am grateful to President Trump for strong cooperation with the United States. Mr President clearly understands the situation and is well-informed about all aspects of this war. We highly value his resolve to help end this war.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Russia would continue to pursue its war aims in Ukraine “to ensure our interests and achieve the goals”.
In an interview with Russia’s RBC radio station, Peskov added: “We are doing this for both the present and the future of our country. For many generations to come. Therefore, we have no alternative.”
How has Trump’s position on Ukraine changed?
Here is what Trump has said about Ukraine’s position at other times this year:
February 2025 – ‘You don’t have the cards’
Trump’s words mark a huge shift from when the two leaders met at the Oval Office in February and Zelenskyy was berated by Trump and his vice president, JD Vance, for not showing enough “gratitude” to the US for its assistance.
Trump also suggested that Ukraine would have to cede territory if the war were to come to an end. He told Zelenskyy: “You have to be thankful. You don’t have the cards. You’re buried there. Your people are dying. You’re running low on soldiers.”
He claimed that the US had empowered Zelenskyy to be a “tough guy”, adding: “ You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. You’re gambling with World War III.
“I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved,” Trump wrote in a social media post after the Oval Office meeting.
August 2025 – ‘There will be land swapping’
Then, on August 11, ahead of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska to discuss the war, Trump stated that both Russia and Ukraine would have to cede territory to end the war.
The US president said his upcoming talks with Putin in Alaska would be a “feel-out meeting” to determine whether Putin was willing to make a deal, something he claimed he would be able to ascertain within two minutes.
“There’ll be some land swapping going on,” Trump told reporters. He said that Russia had occupied some of Ukraine’s “very prime territory” and “we’re going to try to get some of that territory back”.
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Zelenskyy wrote in an X post on the same day that conceding land to Russia would not be a good idea.
“Russia refuses to stop the killings, and therefore must not receive any rewards or benefits,” the Ukrainian president wrote, adding, “concessions do not persuade a killer.”
Ultimately, Putin did not agree to any sort of peace deal as Trump had hoped.
What territory has Russia captured from Ukraine?
During the war, Russia has formally annexed parts of four provinces of eastern and southern Ukraine: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia.
Donestsk and Luhansk are collectively called the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. Russia controls all of Luhansk and part of Donetsk. In Donetsk, Ukraine controls the areas around the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
The Donbas region is highly industrialised and rich in minerals and farmland. It is also home to the port of Mariupol, which provides access to the Black Sea.
Russia controls about 75 percent of Kherson and Zaporizhia, the latter an industrial area with steel, aluminium and aircraft manufacturing alongside a large nuclear power plant.
Why has Trump changed his position?
Experts say Trump’s shift in words might not translate to a shift in policy by Washington.
Some see his new stance as a veiled threat to pressure Putin back to the negotiating table. Indeed, in response to recent incursions into NATO members’ airspace by Russian drones, Trump also appeared to be in favour of a robust NATO response when he spoke to reporters at the General Assembly.
Asked whether he believed NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft that enter their airspace, he told reporters: “Yes, I do.”
Others said his comments were likely to be less targeted, however. “Trump reflects the point of view of the last person he’s spoken to,” Keir Giles, a Eurasia expert at the London think tank Chatham House told Al Jazeera.
“He will change his position when anybody that favours Russia’s outcomes for Europe next has a word with Trump.”
Giles said that Trump changes his stance and uses terms interchangeably, and has done so several times in the past.
“Everybody forgets that what matters is not what he says but instead, what he does.”
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