Trump shifts Ukraine stance, signaling renewed U.S. backing as experts urge caution

President Donald Trump on social media this week signaled a dramatic reversal on the war in Ukraine, saying Kyiv could retake all territory seized by Russia with backing from Europe and NATO. In a Tuesday post, he argued that, with time, patience, and European support, the original borders are an option and asked, “Why not?” The comments mark a sharp departure from his earlier position after re-entering office, when he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a private Oval Office meeting that Kyiv didn’t have the cards to defeat Russia and would likely need to concede in negotiations. Zelenskyy later signaled stronger ties with Trump at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, a moment framed by U.S. coverage as a sign of improved relations between the two leaders.

Trump’s post ignited a swift volley of reactions among security experts and Ukrainian officials. Yuriy Sak, a former defense adviser to Zelenskyy, told Fox News Digital that the development could translate into greater Western unity and support for Kyiv, noting that the approach to Russia’s war on Ukraine has “already changed dramatically.” He added that the shift could enhance coordination among Western allies in backing Ukraine, though he cautioned that words alone are not a guarantee of action.

The response to Trump’s change in stance was mixed. Dan Hoffman, a former CIA Moscow station chief, argued that words alone will have little effect on Russian President Vladimir Putin. “For all the years I spent trying to see the world through the twisted KGB eyes of Vladimir Putin… he does not care about words,” Hoffman said. “He thinks he can use them against us. We did not deter him from threatening Poland, Estonia, Copenhagen and Norway militarily — the United States and NATO did not deter him. He did it.” Hoffman suggested that Washington, if it wants to help Ukraine, should lift all strike restrictions, enforce secondary sanctions, and press European partners to act more decisively, including pressing NATO members like Germany for long-range missiles and urging Denmark to close the Danish Strait to Russia’s maritime traffic.

Russia pushed back on Trump’s comments, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov telling reporters that “the dynamics on the front lines speak for themselves.” He noted that Russia has made few major advances on the battlefield since early 2024 and said the front lines have largely remained frozen for the past 18 months. The Russian assessment underscored Moscow’s view that the war’s trajectory remains driven by battlefield realities, not statements from Washington.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė greeted Trump’s reversal as encouraging, telling Fox News Digital that Ukraine has a right and a chance to regain its internationally recognized borders with full Western support. “I completely agree with the statement that, definitely, Ukraine has a right and a chance, with our full support, to go back to regain its original borders,” she said, later adding, “Because why not?” She warned, however, that Russia’s ongoing coercive actions — including drone incursions and air-space violations in the Baltic region and beyond — illustrate that Moscow views NATO as a rival to be challenged, and she stressed that the United States must stand firm alongside Europe.

Security experts who weighed in stressed that the United States’ role remains pivotal in deterring Russia and sustaining Ukrainian resistance. Sak argued that the security architecture of the modern era has been built around the United States, and that the U.S. voice remains crucial for decisions related to democratic security in Europe. “Standing shoulder to shoulder with the European partners of Ukraine… this alone represents a big threat to Russia,” he said, arguing that a united front is necessary to pressure Moscow economically and militarily.

Sak also emphasized that Ukraine’s aim is to restore its control over territory seized by Russia, not to conquer Russian land. “We’ve never had the ambition to conquer Russian territory. We don’t need it,” he said. “We just want them out of our land. We understand that at this stage, even this objective is not possible to achieve through military means. It will have to be a mixture of diplomatic means, and it probably will take a long time.”

For Kyiv, Trump’s public reversal was seen not as a pledge of immediate action but as a political signal that the United States may be fully aligned with Ukraine and the broader NATO coalition. Zelenskyy’s team has long stressed the importance of sustained Western support, and the shift in tone comes as Kyiv negotiates the difficult balance of pressing for gains on the battlefield while seeking durable Western guarantees.

Overall, analysts caution that even with vocal support from Trump, concrete steps will be required to shift the war’s trajectory. Hoffman and other former officials argued that a robust package of sanctions, long-range capabilities, and credible deterrence measures would be necessary to compel Moscow to alter its strategy. They said that the path to victory for Ukraine is likely to be incremental and costly, requiring not just political backing but practical tools to degrade Russia’s war economy and its strategic capabilities over time.

As the international community absorbs Trump’s comments, experts say the next steps will be crucial: whether the United States and its allies convert rhetoric into policy, whether European partners move more decisively on sanctions and arms deliveries, and whether Moscow interprets the shift as a signal that Western resolve will endure even if public statements change. Putin’s government has shown a willingness to test Western limits, and observers note that Russia will watch closely to see whether the rhetoric translates into real changes in U.S. and allied behavior.