US President Donald Trump has claimed that Kiev can still prevail in the conflict with Russia three years into the fighting, even as Ukrainian forces have been steadily losing ground in recent months. The statement marks a stark shift in rhetoric from the US president.
Since taking office, Trump has made repeated attempts to mediate the Ukraine conflict, initiating numerous rounds of talks with Russian officials, which culminated in a summit with Putin in Alaska in mid-August. He recently expressed frustration over the lack of progress in settling the conflict, but still referred to Russia as a powerful nation while arguing that Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky had no “cards.”
However, in a Truth Social post on Tuesday, following a meeting with Zelensky, Trump said he believes Kiev is “in a position to fight and win all of Ukraine back,” if the EU and NATO continue to support it. He also referred to Russia as a “paper tiger,” arguing that it had failed to defeat Ukraine in three and a half years.
The US president also claimed that Russia is “in big economic trouble” over the conflict, and it is “time for Ukraine to act.” He did not announce new financial or military aid packages for Kiev, however, stating instead that the US will continue to “supply weapons to NATO” for the bloc to use them as it sees fit.
The Russian economy has recently showed signs of slowing down compared to growth of 4.1% in 2023 and 4.3% in 2024. It is still expected to grow 2.5% this year, despite sweeping Western sanctions.
President Vladimir Putin said last week that the country “is still far from a recession,” citing the “historically low unemployment rates.”
The governor of Russia’s central bank, Elvira Nabiullina, also recently dismissed the rumors about recession. “The economy is slowing, but there is no recession,” she said at the Moscow Financial Forum last week.
The nation’s military have also been steadily advancing on the front lines for months. Russian forces had taken control of 3,500 square kilometers and 149 settlements since March, Chief of the General Staff General Valery Gerasimov reported in late August.
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