Trump says he now thinks Ukraine can win back all land lost to Russia

UNITED NATIONS — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he believed Ukraine could win back all territory lost to Russia, a dramatic shift from the U.S. leader’s repeated calls for Kyiv to make concessions to end the war.

Trump posted on social media soon after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly gathering of world leaders.

“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. ”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.”

The strengthened support from Trump, if it sticks, is a huge win for Zelenskyy, who has urged the American president to keep up the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end his war. It was a departure from Trump’s previous suggestions that Ukraine would never be able to reclaim all the territory that Russia has occupied since seizing the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

That had disheartened Zelenskyy, Europeans and Ukrainians and called into question the U.S. commitment to U.N. principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. But now, Trump’s view of the battlefield coincides more with Ukraine’s, Zelenskyy said.

“Trump is a game changer by himself,” Zelenskyy told reporters after their meeting.

Trump needles Russia about war in Ukraine

Trump, going back to his 2024 campaign, insisted he would quickly end the war , but his peace efforts appear to have stalled following a diplomatic blitz last month, when he held a summit with Putin and a White House meeting with Zelenskyy and European allies.

Trump has acknowledged, including in his U.N. speech to world leaders, that he thought a resolution to this conflict would be “the easiest” because he has had a good relationship with Putin . Trump said he is open to imposing more sanctions on Russia and urged Europe to join in.

“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 wrote on social media. “This is not distinguishing Russia. In fact, it is very much making them look like ‘a paper tiger.’”

In his speech to the General Assembly, Trump said the war in Ukraine was making Russia “look bad” because it was “supposed to be a quick little skirmish.”

“It shows you what leadership is, what bad leadership can do to a country,” he said. “The only question now is how many lives will be needlessly lost on both sides.”

Before meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump said the “biggest progress” toward ending the conflict “is that the Russian economy is terrible right now.” Zelenskyy said he agreed with Trump’s call for European nations to further halt imports of Russian oil and natural gas.

“We have great respect for the fight that Ukraine is putting up,” Trump told Zelenskyy, who replied that he had “good news” from the battlefield.

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, the fire following a Russian missile attack is seen in Tatarbunary, Odesa region, Ukraine, on Tuesday. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

How Trump’s stance has shifted on Ukraine

Before his Alaska summit with Putin last month, Trump repeated that any resolution to the war would require “some land swapping.”

In talks with Zelenskyy and Europeans just afterward, Trump said Putin reiterated that he wants the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that make up the Donbas, according to European officials. Days later, Zelenskyy and prominent European leaders came to the White House.

Following those meetings, Trump announced he was arranging for direct talks between Putin and Zelenskyy. But Putin hasn’t shown any interest in meeting with Zelenskyy and Moscow has only intensified its bombardment of Ukraine.

European leaders as well as American lawmakers, including some Republican allies of Trump, have urged the president to dial up stronger sanctions on Russia.

“In the event that Russia is not ready to make a deal to end the war, then the United States is fully prepared to impose a very strong round of powerful tariffs, which would stop the bloodshed, I believe, very quickly,” Trump told the General Assembly.

However, he repeated his calls for Europe to “step it up” and stop buying Russian oil, the engine feeding Putin’s war machine.

Push for sanctions and cutting off Russian oil

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said before meeting with Trump that Europe would be imposing more sanctions and tariffs on Russia and that the bloc would be further reducing its imports of Russian energy.

Zelenskyy, speaking at a special U.N. Security Council session on Ukraine, also appealed for stronger U.S. pressure on Russia.

“Moscow fears America and always pays attention to it,” said Zelenskyy, who has had strained ties with Trump in previous sitdowns and has previously faced White House accusations that he was partly to blame for Russia’s invasion in 2022.

Russia denigrated the Security Council meeting as just the New York stop in the world tour of a “former actor,” a reference to Zelenskyy.

“There is no added value for the establishment of peace in Ukraine generated from today’s meeting,” said Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the U.N. “This will merely become yet another shameful episode in the market of hypocrisy.”

European leaders have supported Zelenskyy’s diplomatic efforts, with some alarmed by the possibility that the war could spread beyond Ukraine as they are facing what they have called Russian provocations.

“I welcome the fact that the president of the United States believes in Ukraine’s ability not only to hold the course” but to prevail, French President Emmanuel Macron said.

NATO allies will hold formal consultations at Estonia’s request on Tuesday, after the Baltic country said three Russian fighter jets entered its airspace last week without authorization.

Trump said he would back NATO countries that choose to shoot down intruding Russian planes, but said direct U.S. involvement would depend on the circumstances.

New strikes in Ukraine as toll of war grows

The full-scale war, which began on Feb. 24, 2022, is taking a heavy toll on Ukrainian civilians. Russia said it shot down three dozen Ukrainian drones heading toward Moscow, while Ukraine said Russian missiles, drones and bombs killed at least two civilians.

The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights also said this month that Ukrainian civilian casualties increased by 40% in the first eight months of this year compared with 2024, as Russia escalated its long-range missile and localized drone strikes.

A U.N. Human Rights Office report released Tuesday described the dire situation of thousands of civilians detained by Russia in areas of Ukraine it has captured.

“Russian authorities have subjected Ukrainian civilian detainees in occupied territory to torture and ill-treatment, including sexual violence, in a widespread and systematic manner,” the report said.

Novikov reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. AP reporters Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations contributed to this report.

联合国——美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周二表示，他相信乌克兰可以赢回所有被俄罗斯夺走的领土。这与这位美国领导人此前多次呼吁基辅做出让步以结束战争的立场发生了戏剧性的转变。

在联合国大会期间，特朗普与乌克兰总统泽连斯基会面后不久，便在社交媒体上发帖。

特朗普写道：“我认为，在欧盟的支持下，乌克兰有能力打赢这场战争，并恢复乌克兰原有的疆界。只要有时间、耐心，以及欧洲，特别是北约的财政支持，恢复这场战争爆发时的原始边界完全有可能。”

如果特朗普的支持能够持续下去，对泽连斯基来说无疑是一次巨大的胜利。泽连斯基一直敦促美国总统继续向俄罗斯总统普京施压，要求其结束战争。这与特朗普此前的说法截然不同，他曾表示乌克兰永远不可能收复俄罗斯自2014年占领克里米亚半岛以来所占领的所有领土。

这令泽连斯基、欧洲人和乌克兰人感到沮丧，也使人们对美国遵守联合国主权和领土完整原则的承诺产生了质疑。但泽连斯基表示，现在特朗普对战场的看法与乌克兰的看法更加一致。

泽连斯基在会晤后告诉记者：“特朗普本身就是一个改变游戏规则的人。”

特朗普就乌克兰战争问题挑衅俄罗斯

特朗普早在 2024 年竞选时就坚称他会迅速结束战争，但上个月他与普京举行峰会，并在白宫与泽连斯基和欧洲盟友举行会晤之后，他的和平努力似乎陷入了停滞。

特朗普曾多次承认，包括在联合国大会上对世界各国领导人发表的讲话中，他认为解决这场冲突“最容易”，因为他与普京关系良好。特朗普表示，他愿意对俄罗斯实施更多制裁，并敦促欧洲加入制裁行列。

特朗普在社交媒体上写道：“俄罗斯已经漫无目的地打了三年半的仗，而真正的军事强国只需不到一周就能赢得这场战争。这并非在贬低俄罗斯。事实上，这让他们看起来像‘纸老虎’。”

特朗普在联合国大会的演讲中表示，乌克兰战争让俄罗斯“看起来很不好”，因为这场战争“原本应该是一场短暂的小规模冲突”。

“这展现了什么是领导力，以及糟糕的领导力会对一个国家造成怎样的后果，”他说。“现在唯一的问题是，双方会有多少生命白白牺牲。”

在与泽连斯基会晤前，特朗普表示，结束冲突的“最大进展”在于“俄罗斯经济目前状况糟糕”。泽连斯基则表示，他同意特朗普呼吁欧洲国家进一步停止进口俄罗斯石油和天然气的提议。

“我们非常尊重乌克兰正在进行的战斗，”特朗普告诉泽连斯基，泽连斯基回应说，他从战场上带来了“好消息”。

这张由乌克兰紧急服务部门提供的照片显示，周二，俄罗斯导弹袭击后，乌克兰敖德萨州塔塔尔布纳雷市发生火灾。（乌克兰紧急服务部门供图，美联社发布）

特朗普对乌克兰的立场发生了怎样的转变

在上个月与普京举行阿拉斯加峰会之前，特朗普重申，任何解决战争的方案都需要“一些土地交换”。

据欧洲官员透露，特朗普随后与泽连斯基和欧洲官员会谈时表示，普京重申他想要顿涅茨克和卢甘斯克地区，这两个地区构成了顿巴斯地区。几天后，泽连斯基和一些欧洲重要领导人访问了白宫。

会晤结束后，特朗普宣布他正在安排普京和泽连斯基直接对话。但普京并未表现出任何与泽连斯基会面的意愿，莫斯科反而加大了对乌克兰的轰炸力度。

欧洲领导人和美国议员，包括特朗普的一些共和党盟友，都敦促总统加大对俄罗斯的制裁力度。

特朗普在联合国大会上表示：“如果俄罗斯不愿达成协议结束战争，那么美国已做好充分准备，实施一轮强有力的关税，我相信这将很快制止流血冲突。”

然而，他再次呼吁欧洲“加大力度”，停止购买俄罗斯石油，因为俄罗斯石油是普京战争机器的引擎。

推动制裁并切断俄罗斯石油供应

欧盟委员会主席乌尔苏拉·冯德莱恩在与特朗普会晤前表示，欧洲将对俄罗斯实施更多制裁和关税，欧盟还将进一步减少从俄罗斯进口能源。

泽连斯基在联合国安理会乌克兰问题特别会议上发表讲话时，也呼吁美国加大对俄罗斯的压力。

“莫斯科害怕美国，并且一直关注着美国，”泽连斯基说道。他此前与特朗普的会晤关系紧张，并且曾面临白宫的指责，称他对俄罗斯在2022年的入侵负有部分责任。

俄罗斯贬低安理会会议，称其不过是“前演员”（指泽连斯基）世界巡回演讲的纽约站。

俄罗斯常驻联合国副代表德米特里·波利扬斯基表示：“今天的会议对乌克兰和平的建立没有任何附加价值。这只会成为虚伪市场上的又一个可耻事件。”

欧洲领导人支持泽连斯基的外交努力，但一些领导人对战争可能蔓延到乌克兰以外感到担忧，因为他们正面临他们所称的俄罗斯挑衅。

法国总统马克龙表示：“我欢迎美国总统相信乌克兰不仅有能力坚持既定路线”，而且有能力取得胜利。

应爱沙尼亚的要求，北约盟国将于周二举行正式磋商。此前，这个波罗的海国家称，上周有三架俄罗斯战斗机未经授权进入其领空。

特朗普表示，他将支持选择击落入侵的俄罗斯飞机的北约国家，但表示美国是否直接介入将取决于具体情况。

乌克兰境内新一轮袭击，战争伤亡不断增加

这场始于2022年2月24日的全面战争给乌克兰平民造成了沉重打击。俄罗斯方面称击落了36架飞往莫斯科的乌克兰无人机，而乌克兰方面则表示，俄罗斯的导弹、无人机和炸弹造成至少两名平民死亡。

联合国人权事务高级专员办事处本月也表示，今年前八个月乌克兰平民伤亡人数比 2024 年同期增加了 40%，原因是俄罗斯加大了远程导弹和局部无人机袭击的力度。

联合国人权事务高级专员办事处周二发布的一份报告描述了俄罗斯在乌克兰占领区拘留的数千名平民的严峻处境。

报告称，“俄罗斯当局在被占领土上对乌克兰平民被拘留者实施了广泛而系统的酷刑和虐待，包括性暴力。”

诺维科夫从乌克兰基辅报道。美联社记者汉娜·阿尔希罗娃（乌克兰基辅）和法尔努什·阿米里（联合国）对本报道亦有贡献。