Swedish Air Force Saab Jas 39 Gripen Jet Fighter takes off during NATO’s Ramsteign Flag 2025 exercise at Leeuwarden Air Base on April 8, 2025.
John Tiss | AFP | Getty Images
Global defense stocks rose on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump made a major rhetorical change that Ukraine could seize territory now occupied by Russia.
In a post released overnight on his Truth Social Platform, Trump, with the support of the European Union and the NATO military coalition, “is in a position to fight and win everything in Ukraine in its original form,” Kiev said.
The EU and NATO have now provided military and humanitarian support to Ukraine, which is not a member of either organization since the initiation of the Russian invasion in 2022.
Trump noted that his view came after “knowing and fully understanding” the military and economic situation in Russia and Ukraine, and described it as “economic issues” poses in Moscow. The White House leaders also compared Russia to “paper tigers.” This is a term that refers to forces that usually seem powerful but are ineffective.
The US President has previously suggested that Ukraine needs to be open to abandoning some of its territory in peace talks.
In separate comments Tuesday, Trump said NATO members should shoot down Russian jets entering outer space over the last few weeks following a series of reported invasions in the air in Poland, Romania and Estonia by Russian aircraft and drones.
Defense stocks were one of the top performers in the pan-European Stoxx 600 Wednesday afternoon index.
German tank parts maker Renk is trading around 6.5% higher at the end, while Italian defense companies are Leonardo Both Swedish defense giant Saab rose more than 3.5%.
German defense company Hensoldt was another top performer with a 5.8% increase at 3:30pm London time.
Christian Ladurner, chief financial officer at Hensoldt, said Trump’s comments do not necessarily change the overall situation in the European defence industry, but rather reaffirms the sector’s warning that Russian President Vladmir Putin will continue to test the bloc.
“In general, we have to say that the development we saw over the last two days is extremely encouraging for Europe,” Radner told CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe on Wednesday.
“I think the US is increasingly seeing reality, what’s going on, what’s going on, what’s going on.
In Asia, major South Korean defense stocks, including Hanwha Aerospace, Korean Aerospace and Hyundai Rotem, recorded profits of 2% to 5% on Wednesday.
The state side and the US defense stocks were also high. Lockheed Martin, RTX and Northrop Grumman Everything trades more than 1% higher Boeing It rose by about 0.3%.
Russia “respects Trump’s willingness to help”
Ukrainian President Voldy Meezelensky welcomed Trump’s true social post and said on social media he was “thank” for the US president’s “strong cooperation.”
“He has a clear understanding of the situation and is well-informed about all aspects of this war. We strongly appreciate his determination to help end this war,” Zelensky told social media platform X on Tuesday evening.
The President of Ukrainian Voldy Mirzelensky (L) will attend a bilateral meeting with President Donald Trump (R) at the 80th Session (UNGA) of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) held at the UN headquarters in New York City on September 23, 2025.
Anadoru | Anadoru | Getty Images
Russia has improved its reconciliation with Washington in recent months, but has also responded to changes in Trump’s tone against the Ukrainian War.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that President Putin will find a solution in Ukraine that he “respects Trump’s willingness to support.” However, Peskov challenged Trump’s Russian labelling as a so-called “paper tiger.”
