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() Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the UN General Assembly Wednesday, following a show of support and a shift in rhetoric from President Donald Trump.
The U.S. president on Tuesday suggested NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft that violate their airspaces like Estonia, Poland and Ukraine and threatened more sanctions and tariffs against Moscow.
In a notable shift, Trump also said he believes Ukraine can win back land lost in the war against Russia’s invasion, allowing it to restore its “original borders.”
The comments are a far cry from Trump’s position earlier this year when he doubled down on the need for Zelenskyy to concede Ukrainian territory to secure a peace agreement.
“Frankly, Ukraine is doing a very good job of stopping this very large army. It’s pretty amazing,” Trump, sitting next to Zelenskyy, said Tuesday. “You know, this is a war that should’ve ended in three days, four days, people said it was going to be very quick – you’ve got to hand it to the Ukrainian soldiers.”
“Russia doesn’t look very distinguished, having taken three-and-a-half years now of very hard fighting,” Trump continued. “And it looks like it’s not going to end for a very long time.”
In a Truth Social post, Trump also slammed Russia and said the country looks like “a paper tiger.”
Moscow has hit back, saying Russia is not a tiger but a bear advancing in Ukraine and maintaining a stable economy.
Zelenskyy, Trump meet on sidelines of UN General Assembly
Zelenskyy praised Trump’s latest moves on social media and referenced a conversation on Tuesday that focused on “several promising ideas to advance peace.”
“Mr. President clearly understands the situation and is well-informed about all aspects of this war. We highly value his resolve to help end this war,” Zelenskyy said.
He also said he expects more actions against the Kremlin in the coming weeks, telling Fox News that current European pressure on Russia is “not enough.”
“We need pressure directly on Putin, on the energy network,” Zelenskyy said, adding that Trump now understands “we can’t just swap territories it’s not fair.”
‘s Anna Kutz contributed to this report.