In a stunning turn of events, U.S. President Donald Trump has declared that Ukraine could reclaim all its territory lost to Russia since 2014, a statement that marks a sharp departure from his earlier, more cautious stance on the ongoing war. The announcement, made on Trump’s Truth Social platform on September 23, 2025, came just after his talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. Trump’s assertion that Ukraine, with the backing of Europe and NATO, is now positioned to “win all of Ukraine back in its original form” has sent ripples through diplomatic and military circles, raising questions about U.S. policy and the future of the conflict.
Trump’s post did not stop at suggesting a return to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders. He hinted that Ukraine could “maybe even go further than that,” though he left the specifics tantalizingly vague and made no explicit mention of Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. According to BBC, this is a significant shift from Trump’s previous statements, in which he had repeatedly indicated that a peace deal would likely require Ukraine to cede some territory—a position Ukrainian President Zelensky has consistently rejected.
“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. He added that Russia’s worsening economic situation—citing Western sanctions, sluggish domestic growth, inflation, and budget deficits—has weakened Moscow’s hand, calling Russia a “paper tiger.” In his words, “Putin and Russia are in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act.”
The Kremlin wasted no time in responding. Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, dismissed Trump’s comments as “erroneous,” suggesting the U.S. president was influenced by Zelensky’s optimism. “The thesis that Ukraine can fight something back, we believe it erroneous. The situation on the front line speaks for itself,” Peskov told reporters, according to BBC. He went further, rebuffing Trump’s “paper tiger” label by saying, “Russia is in no way a tiger. It’s more associated with a bear and there is no such thing as a paper bear.” While he denied that Russia was in economic trouble, he did concede there were “points of tension” in some sectors due to global sanctions.
Back in Kyiv, the mood was cautiously optimistic. Zelensky welcomed what he called a “big shift” in Trump’s position, telling reporters at the UN that he understood the U.S. might offer Ukraine security guarantees “after the war is finished.” Pressed for details, Zelensky admitted, “I don’t want to lie, we don’t have specific details,” but he did mention the possibility of more weapons, air defenses, and drones. Speaking later to Fox News, Zelensky said Trump’s post “surprised him” but took it as a “positive signal” that the U.S. would support Ukraine until the war’s end. “I think the fact that Putin was lying to President Trump so many times also made a difference between us,” he told Fox host Bret Baier.
Despite the apparent diplomatic breakthrough, political and military analysts remain skeptical. According to Al Jazeera, Volodymyr Fesenko, head of Kyiv’s Penta think tank, cautioned against interpreting Trump’s words as a genuine policy reversal. “Don’t consider Trump’s words as a signal to return to the 1991 borders,” Fesenko said. “They’re a rhetoric formula Trump uses to express sympathies, positive emotions towards Ukraine. They’re a signal, a way of pressuring [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, in a rhetoric way so far.” He added, “There won’t be any revolutionary and sensational steps, no game-changer, no single decision that can change everything.”
Fesenko also pointed out that Trump’s approach places the onus on Brussels and NATO, rather than Washington, to provide the necessary support for Kyiv to reclaim its territories. “Trump thinks like a businessman,” Fesenko said, arguing that Trump’s strategy is to push the European Union to tighten economic pressure on Russia, with the U.S. potentially joining later in coordination with sanctions and military aid. “Trump doesn’t want Ukraine to win the war. He wants the war to be over,” Fesenko asserted. “His goals didn’t change. That’s why he sends signals to Putin.”
Lieutenant General Ihor Romanenko, former deputy head of Ukraine’s military General Staff, echoed the skepticism. He told Al Jazeera that Trump’s new position likely reflects the input of his advisers rather than a personal reassessment. “He isn’t capable of such an assessment. This is a realistic plan of someone on his team,” Romanenko said, suggesting that true support for Ukraine would require Washington to invest more and talk less. Romanenko also stressed that Kyiv must do its “homework” to fully leverage Western aid, including “full and fair mobilisation” of fighting-age men, switching the economy to a “military mode,” and implementing full martial law—steps that could prove politically challenging.
Meanwhile, the military situation on the ground remains fraught. Russia’s summer offensive in 2025 has resulted in the occupation of about 2,000 square kilometers, including full control of Luhansk and advances in Donetsk, Dnipro, and Zaporizhia regions. According to Nikolay Mitrokhin of Bremen University, Ukraine desperately needs U.S.-made HIMARS rockets, armored vehicles, Patriot air defense systems, and even “obsolete and decommissioned” F-16 fighter jets to defend its cities and “hunt down” Russian warplanes. However, Mitrokhin cautioned that even with these resources, “it’s impossible to contemplate the return to the 1991 borders.” The dominance of drones, tactical shortcomings among Ukrainian commanders, and losses in previous counteroffensives have all contributed to a sobering outlook.
Ukraine’s most successful advances have been in areas with a limited Russian presence, such as the Kinburn Peninsula in Kherson region. Large-scale breakthroughs remain elusive, and experts warn that even regaining territory lost since 2022 may not be realistic in the near term.
On the international stage, Trump’s comments have also reignited debate over NATO’s role. After a series of Russian airspace violations, Trump urged NATO nations to shoot down Russian planes breaching their airspace, a suggestion that Poland’s foreign minister greeted with a terse “Roger that.” NATO, for its part, condemned Russia’s actions as “escalatory” and warned it would defend its members with “all necessary military and non-military tools.”
Trump has also criticized some NATO members for continuing to buy Russian energy, arguing this “funds a war against themselves.” In a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trump was told that by 2027, Europe would have ended its dependence on Russian fossil fuels for good—a move designed to further squeeze Moscow’s war chest.
While Trump’s new rhetoric is a marked shift from his earlier skepticism about Ukraine’s chances, analysts caution that unpredictability has always been a hallmark of his foreign policy. Whether this latest statement signals a lasting change or is simply another attempt to shake up stagnant negotiations remains to be seen. For now, the world watches as the war grinds on and the diplomatic chessboard shifts once again.
