Donald Trump emerged from his United Nations meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday with a striking declaration: Ukraine, he said, can win the war outright. In a social media post after the talks, the US president wrote that Ukraine, "with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form" — a sharp break from his earlier insistence that Kyiv would have to make territorial concessions to Moscow.
A striking shift in tone
"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," Trump wrote after the meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. During the talks he praised Ukraine's resilience — "We have great respect for the fight that Ukraine is putting up" — and predicted the war would end "faster than people think." The two leaders, whose past encounters have been marked by open tension, exchanged warm greetings, and the closed portion of their discussion lasted 40 minutes.
Notably, Trump's post mentioned no new American sanctions, tariffs or direct arms sales. Instead, he suggested NATO members would continue purchasing US weapons for transfer to Ukraine — keeping the financial burden on Europe while Washington plays mediator.
The Graham sanctions hammer
Zelensky came to New York with a specific ask: he urged Trump to use the tariff powers in the Russia sanctions bill championed by Senator Lindsey Graham, which Trump signed into law last week. "I'm very thankful to the Americans," Zelensky said of the legislation, adding: "I hope the president will use this instrument."
The law gives the White House authority to impose targeted tariffs of up to 100 percent on the largest importers of Russian crude oil and natural gas — a threat aimed squarely at China and India, the two biggest buyers keeping the Kremlin's war economy afloat. In his UN address, Trump signalled he is open to using it: "Last week, in honor of Senator Lindsey Graham, I signed a powerful new law passed by Congress, providing me with enormous new tariff authorities. And, if necessary, I will have to use them."
Winter weapons and the energy ceasefire
In a Wall Street Journal interview after the meeting, Zelensky revealed he had asked Trump for a "winter package" of new military equipment, including Patriot antimissile systems and other technologies, ahead of the cold months when Russia traditionally pounds Ukraine's heating and power grid. The two leaders also discussed a mutual halt to strikes on energy infrastructure — Zelensky said Ukraine is ready for such a ceasefire, and added: "I think he will try to negotiate some energy ceasefire."
But the Ukrainian president was blunt about Putin's intentions, telling the Journal that the Russian leader is unlikely to respond to diplomacy without new pressure, such as stepped-up sanctions — and that, with Russia's elections behind him, Putin feels little compulsion to adjust a campaign that is advancing only slowly on the battlefield. Zelensky singled out India, Turkey and especially China for propping up Moscow. He also claimed Ukrainian forces have destroyed 45 percent of Russia's refining capacity — the drone campaign Trump has been pressuring him to halt, even as the White House frets over fuel prices.
"I'm ready anytime"
Perhaps the most consequential line from Zelensky's side: he declared himself "ready" to sit down with Vladimir Putin face-to-face as part of potential US-led trilateral talks. "I'm ready ... I'm ready anytime," he said, urging the three sides to "move as quick as possible." He thanked Trump for his personal support and the bipartisan backing behind the Graham bill, and voiced a hope that the war could be stopped "before winter, better before winter."
The optimism in New York sits uneasily alongside the battlefield reality. Just a day earlier, Zelensky warned that Ukrainian intelligence shows Russia preparing a new massive attack, and said there could be no talk of easing sanctions while Ukrainians live under daily missile and drone barrages. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is due in New York on Wednesday to meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio — the next test of whether this week's diplomacy produces anything more than words.
Watch our latest video coverage here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qjMkkknHbM