Trump reverses stance on Ukraine war, says Kyiv could reclaim all territory with Western backing

In a dramatic reversal on the Russia-Ukraine war, former President Donald Trump said Ukraine could retake all territory it has lost to Russia, a position that marks a sharp departure from a peace-forward posture he briefly signaled after a summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska last month. In a post on Truth Social Tuesday, Trump argued that Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form. He wrote that with time, patience, and the financial backing of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original borders from where this war started are very much an option.

The remarks arrived as Trump stood in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, where he also pressed for intensified Western backing of Kyiv. He suggested that NATO members should be emboldened to shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter allied airspace, a point he reinforced during remarks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump argued that Russia looks like a “paper tiger” and said a real military power would have been able to win the war in less than a week. He reaffirmed support for supplying Ukraine with weapons and munitions through NATO, while indicating the United States would help back up NATO allies if they took action against Russian incursions.

The dramatic shift comes amid a string of recent Russian military activity near European borders and within NATO airspace. In the past week, three Russian MiG-31 jets entered Estonian airspace for 12 minutes over the Gulf of Finland on September 19; NATO intercepted the jets but did not engage. Days later, a Russian IL-20M reconnaissance plane entered neutral Baltic Sea airspace on September 21, drawing responses from German and Swedish jets. On September 22, Russian warplanes crossed into Romanian and Polish airspace during exercises, prompting strong warnings from Warsaw. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the incursion a “large-scale provocation” and invoked NATO Article 4 for consultations as a precautionary measure. At the United Nations Security Council, Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister Radosław Sikorski underscored the seriousness, telling members that if another missile or aircraft enters Polish space without permission and is shot down, there should be no posturing about it. Russia has denied intent, blaming electronic warfare disruptions for the breaches and arguing that the drones’ range could not reach Poland.

The events have unfolded while Trump and Zelensky have met in New York after Trump welcomed Putin for a three-hour meeting in Anchorage, Alaska on August 15. That summit, the first in-person meeting between a U.S. president and the Russian leader since Trump’s reelection, was billed as an effort to broker terms to end the war. After leaving Alaska, Trump said he hoped Putin and Zelensky would hold talks without him and that he would help facilitate a deal if needed, signaling a pragmatic approach that critics say could shift with the political winds. The Alaska meeting occurred amid broader tensions as Russia’s war rages on and Western countries reassess their roles in supporting Kyiv.

As world leaders gather in New York this week, the evolving U.S. stance—combining an intensified commitment to arming Ukraine with a renewed willingness to back NATO members facing Russian air incursions—adds a fresh strand to the already complex dynamics of the war and its diplomacy. The United States has repeatedly stressed the need for a durable, negotiated settlement, but Trump’s latest remarks align him with a more assertive military posture that could influence the expectations of Kyiv, Washington’s European allies, and Moscow. The situation remains fluid as Russia continues to project power beyond its immediate borders and as Kyiv seeks to reclaim control of territory it views as legally and morally essential to its sovereignty.