Trump says Ukraine can retake all their land by leveraging on Russia's 'BIG Economic trouble'

U.S. President Donald Trump said that he believes Ukraine can reclaim all of their land from Russia amidst "BIG Economic trouble" the latter is currently experiencing from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

He did not, however, state how the U.S. would support this move, including by implementing harsher sanctions on Russia like he had repeatedly suggested.

Big economic problems

In a Truth Social post made on Sep. 23 (local time), Trump said he understands that the war has caused Russia "economic trouble".

According to The Guardian, Russia's oil refineries have been repeatedly hit by Ukrainian drones, resulting in monopoly pipeline Transneft warning producers that they may soon have to cut output.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly called the attacks "the sanctions that work the fastest".

Transneft, meanwhile, has called the reports of its output cuts "fake news", but Russian citizens are now struggling to fill their fuel tanks as petrol stations run dry, The Guardian also reported.

Prices of petrol have also reportedly surged to record highs and fuel shortages have resulted in hour-long queues for motorists to fill their tanks.

Change in tone

"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, adding that this can be accomplished "with time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO".

While he did not explicitly state any change in U.S. policies, he said the U.S. will "continue to supply weapons to NATO for NATO to do what they want with them".

Trump also took to criticising Russia for their "[aimeless]" war efforts that have yet to cease after three years.

"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. This is not distinguishing Russia. In fact, it is very much making them look like “a paper tiger.”

The tone he took was a sharp change from his previous sentiments, where he had suggested that Kyiv consider giving up their territories in exchange for peace.

The exclusion of Zelensky during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last month also fuelled fears that a disadvantageous decision on Ukraine's fate may be made without their input.

Trump's statement was praised by Europe's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, who said that "we are in the same understanding now," according to Reuters.

His words came after he met with Zelensky on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) being held in New York.

Zelensky reportedly told reporters that the meeting had been "good, constructive".

He also called Trump's words on Truth Social a "big shift", suggesting that Ukraine's and U.S.'s positions were "closer than any time before".

Top image via Zelensky/Facebook