US President Donald Trump has dramatically changed his position and announced that Kyiv, with the support of the EU and NATO, could regain all of Ukraine’s territory, writes the British broadcaster BBC.
In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump said that Ukraine could regain “the original borders where the war began” if pressure on Russia’s economy is continued. The US president’s statements follow a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after Trump’s speech at the UN General Assembly in New York. Trump regularly expresses his desire to end the war, but so far has always emphasized that the implementation of the peace process would require giving up some territory. Kyiv has rejected such an option every time.
Trump added that Ukraine “could even go further than that,” but did not explain in more detail what he meant by that. The US president also did not mention Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, but explained that he had changed his position because he had become more familiar with the military and economic situation in Russia and Ukraine. He called Russia a “paper tiger” and said that now was the right time for Ukraine to act, as Russia was experiencing major economic problems. Zelensky praised the change in position, and after meeting with Trump, he told reporters that he understood that the US was ready to provide security guarantees to Ukraine after the end of the war.
Later, speaking to Fox News, Zelensky admitted that Trump’s “Truth Social” post surprised him, but that he took it as a good sign that Trump and the US would remain on Ukraine’s side until the end of the war.
On the 23rd of September, the US president also announced that
NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircrafts that violate airspace.
In recent weeks, there have been several incidents of Russian drones and fighter jets entering NATO airspace. In mid-September, a NATO meeting was requested by Poland and Estonia. Romania has also reported airspace violations. After the meeting on the 23rd of September, NATO issued a statement condemning Russia’s actions and warning that it would use all necessary military and other tools to defend itself. The alliance’s report also stressed that Russia’s actions constitute a pattern of increasingly irresponsible behavior. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said: “We are a defensive alliance, yes, but we are not naive, so we see what is happening.”
NATO’s position was also echoed by Polish President Karol Nawrocki, who said his country was ready to defend its territory and respond adequately. “Polish people, as well as countries of Central and Eastern Europe, will not be scared of Russian drones,” Nawrocki said.
Russia has denied violating Estonian airspace, while the drones’ entry into Poland was accidental. Russia has also not commented on the Romanian case.
Asked whether the US would support its NATO allies if a Russian plane was shot down, Trump said it depended on the circumstances and praised the alliance for increasing its defense budget. However,
Trump also criticized some NATO members for buying energy from Russia,
saying they were sponsoring a war against themselves.
Before meeting with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in mid-August, Trump said he might try to return some territory to Ukraine, but something would have to be given up. Putin reportedly demanded during the meeting that Russia gets all of Donbas in exchange for freezing the rest of the front line.
At the same time, Trump has regularly threatened to impose sanctions on the Kremlin, but this has not happened so far, and Moscow has ignored the deadlines set by the US president.
Unpredictability is a hallmark of the US president’s foreign policy, and it is possible that his latest remarks are an attempt to revive peace talks that have been stalled since the Trump-Putin meeting. Perhaps most notable is the conclusion of the Truth Social post – it implies that the US will continue to sell weapons to NATO, which will then transfer them to Ukraine. This is not as much as the previous administration of President Joe Biden had pledged, but much more than Trump has promised so far.
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