UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump shifted his rhetoric about the war in Ukraine on Tuesday, saying he believes Ukraine can win back all of the territory Russia has taken since its invasion, although he gave no indication of how that would affect U.S. policy.
Trump made his comment in a post on his Truth Social platform soon after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. He had previously said that both Kyiv and Moscow would have to cede land to end the war.
"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," Trump said in his post.
Zelenskiy has been pushing Trump to show more support for Kyiv's war effort, including by imposing tough new sanctions on Russia. Many Ukrainians were shocked when Trump gave Russian President Vladimir Putin red carpet treatment at a mid-August summit in Alaska, and believe Moscow will not stop its war unless it faces heavy external pressure.
In the post, Trump criticized Russia, saying it had been fighting "aimlessly" in a war that a "real military power" would have won in less than a week. But he has not imposed tougher sanctions and he and aides have seemed to indicate that Kyiv must cede both Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine to Russia in order to end the deadliest conflict in Europe in 80 years.
In his post on Tuesday, however, Trump hinted at stronger action. "Putin and Russia are in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act," the post said.
Trump said the U.S. will continue to supply weapons to allies "for NATO to do what they want with them."
(Reporting by Steve Holland; additional reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto; Writing by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Rami Ayyub, Don Durfee and Lisa Shumaker)
