US President Donald Trump will meet with Ukrainian President Voldimia Zelensky at the 80th UN General Assembly in New York City, New York, USA on September 23, 2025.
Alexander Drago | Reuters
President Donald Trump said Tuesday afternoon that Ukraine, with the help of the European Union, could regain territory from Russia and return to its original border.
The president has repeatedly proposed that abandoning any land would be a key factor in solving the Ukrainian war with Russia.
“After knowing and fully understanding the military and economic situation in Ukraine/Russia, and seeing the economic troubles that it is causing Russia, I think Ukraine is in a position to fight and win all Ukraine in its original form, with the support of the European Union,” Trump said in a lengthy post on the true society.
The president said that bringing Ukraine back to its original border with NATO financial support was “a huge number of options.” He added that Russia has “fought aimlessly for three and a half years in a war that should have taken away actual military power that would not take a week to win. This does not distinguish Russia.”
When Trump realizes how much Russian citizens are spent fighting against Ukraine, he says, “Just having great spirits and getting better, Ukraine can reclaim their country in its original form and may even go even further!”
The president said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his country are “in great economic troubles and this is the time for Ukraine to act.” He said the US will continue to supply NATO with weapons “to do what NATO wants with them.”
Ukrainian President Voldimir Zelenki told reporters: “It’s a big change. This post for Trump is a big change. It’s very positive.”
It was not immediately clear whether Trump imagined what they were going back to before Russia’s invasion in February 2022, or whether it included Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The president’s post represents a major shift from previous statements on the conflict. Trump has become increasingly critical of Putin, but he has maintained a more neutral approach, particularly since the bilateral meeting in Alaska last month, when he generally tries to unite both sides for negotiations.
Trump’s post on social media on Tuesday comes after meeting Ukrainian President Voldy Mil Zelensky and fifth Vownai Voldy Mil Zelensky in his second term on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Before their conversation about closure, Trump told reporters he was in support of NATO countries shooting down Russian aircraft violating their airspace. When asked if the US would back up NATO allies, he said it would “depend” on the situation.
Trump also told news outlets that the purpose of the conflict appears to be invisible. “It doesn’t seem to end for a long time,” he said.
In Trump’s speech on Tuesday morning before the UN General Assembly, he criticized European countries for continuing to buy oil from Russia despite wanting to put pressure on Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump has repeatedly said that exchanging territories between Ukraine and Russia will be a key component of any solution to end the war.
At the White House last month, Trump suggested there was talk of Russia and Ukraine, which could “exchange” territory as part of a ceasefire deal.
“We really want to get some back. It’s complicated. It’s not really easy. It’s very complicated,” Trump said on August 8 at an event with Azerbaijan and Armenian leaders.
“But we’re going to get some back. We’re going to switch between some,” he added. “We may exchange some territory for improvements of both… and we will talk about it later or tomorrow, or whatever.”
This week ahead of the annual UN rally in New York, Zelensky called on European countries and the United States to increase pressure on Russia with secondary sanctions. He cited ongoing attacks on his country, including massive missile and drone attacks over the weekend that killed at least three people and injured dozens more.
