President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Ukraine could restore its borders from before Russia’s invasion and that he believes NATO member countries should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter their airspace, escalating his rhetoric against the Kremlin as its war in Ukraine drags on.
Taken together, Trump’s remarks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly about shooting down Russian aircraft and his later post on Truth Social about Ukraine’s borders seemed to reflect a significant shift in his attitude toward Moscow and what the end of the intractable conflict might look like.
His comments on Ukraine’s borders represent the first time since taking office that he’s suggested the nation could win back all of the territory that Russia has taken since 2014. He had previously suggested Ukraine would need to give up some of its territory in order to secure a peace deal. And his statement on NATO shooting down aircraft suggests a willingness to put the defense alliance in more direct conflict with Russia than merely giving weapons to Ukraine.
“Yes, I do,” Trump said when posed a question about NATO shoot-downs during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Later, on Truth Social, Trump wrote that after developing a more fulsome understanding of Ukraine and Russia’s economic and military situations, he had come to believe “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 said the conflict was making Russia look like a “paper tiger,” and asserted it was costing Moscow significant funds and making it hard to get gasoline.
“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. Why not?” Trump wrote in a lengthy post, adding, “Ukraine would be able to take back their Country in its original form and, who knows, maybe even go further than that! Putin and Russia are in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act.”
Zelensky hailed Trump’s post as “a big shift,” calling the US leader “a gamechanger.”
