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President Donald Trump hosts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and European allies at the White House for a multilateral meeting on peace talks in the White House on August 18, 2025. Photo credit: The White House / Twitter (PD)

In a stark departure from his past rhetoric, Donald Trump on Tuesday said he believes that Ukraine could win its war with Russia and regain all the territory it has lost in the past.

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It is tough to be surprised by anything Donald Trump does these days. However, on Tuesday, the US president stunned the world when he announced that he believes Ukraine could regain all of the territory that it was forced to cede to Russian invaders in recent years.

Trump’s post, which also denigrated Russia’s military prowess, could drastically alter the dynamics of a conflict that has been slowly tipping in Moscow’s favor.

“After getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation and, after seeing the Economic trouble it is causing Russia, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form,” Trump wrote in a social media post.

What is truly remarkable about this turnabout is that the US president had always appeared to be more sympathetic with Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin. He repeatedly made it sound as though Ukraine wanted this war, and, earlier this year, Trump and members of his cabinet dressed down Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

On Tuesday, however, he completely changed his tune.

“Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years a War that should have taken a Real Military Power less than a week to win,” Trump said following another meeting with Zelenskyy earlier in the day. “This is not distinguishing Russia. In fact, it is very much making them look like ‘a paper tiger.’”

His post was so out of character that it almost seemed as though his account might have been hacked. But then the White House retweeted it, and, after the Zelenskyy meeting, Trump also stated that he believes NATO should shoot down Russian aircraft that enter its airspace.

In recent days and weeks, there have been multiple instances of these incursions.

Trump also indicated that he believes that Putin is keeping his citizens in the dark about what is happening in the war and the hardships they face because of sanctions. If only Russians were aware of the state of their country, he said, it would bolster Ukraine’s chances in the conflict.

“When the people living in Moscow, and all of the Great Cities, Towns, and Districts all throughout Russia, find out what is really going on with this War, the fact that it’s almost impossible for them to get Gasoline through the long lines that are being formed, and all of the other things that are taking place in their War Economy, where most of their money is being spent on fighting Ukraine, which has Great Spirit, and only getting better, Ukraine would be able to take back their Country in its original form and, who knows, maybe even go further than that!” Trump stated.

It can be tough to parse what he is talking about, but this post seems to also include territories like the Crimea, which has been under Russian control for more than a decade.

“Putin and Russia are in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act,” Trump added before stating that the US would continue to supply weapons to NATO.

It seems likely that this post will spur the large, bipartisan pro-Ukraine faction on Capitol Hill into action to turn the president’s rhetoric into tangible aid for Kiev.

  • Klaus Marre is a senior editor for Politics and director of the Mentor Apprentice Program at WhoWhatWhy. Follow him on Bluesky @unravelingpolitics.bsky.social.

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