Trump’s abrupt pivot: backs full Ukrainian recovery, urges NATO to shoot down Russian aircraft
NEW YORK — In a striking reversal that could reshape Western diplomacy toward Moscow, former U.S. president Donald Trump said Wednesday that Ukraine could “fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form,” and he urged NATO members to shoot down Russian aircraft that violate their airspace. The comments came after a private meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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Speaking on his Truth Social platform after the encounter, Trump described Russia as a “paper tiger,” saying President Vladimir Putin and the Russian economy were in “BIG Economic trouble” and that Europe — and NATO in particular — could provide the financial backing Kyiv needs to reclaim its prewar borders. “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,” he wrote. “Why not?”
Trump’s public posture marks a sharp about-face from a leader who less than two months ago met with Putin in Alaska and has repeatedly signaled a willingness to reset relations with Moscow. It also arrives at a moment of heightened tensions across NATO’s eastern flank after a string of airspace violations and drone incursions attributed to Russia.
“Yes I do” — on shooting down planes
When asked by a reporter whether NATO nations should shoot down Russian jets that stray into their airspace, Trump was blunt: “Yes I do.” His comments reflected growing alarm among U.S. and European officials after recent incidents, including the scrambling of NATO jets when three Russian MiG-31s briefly violated Estonian airspace and reports from Poland of repeated drone overflights during attacks on Ukraine.
The suggestion has alarmed European officials cautious about steps that might trigger a direct confrontation with Moscow. Germany’s defence minister, Boris Pistorius, warned of an “escalation trap,” urging “level-headedness” and restraint. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she spoke with Trump at the U.N. about airspace violations and that they agreed on the urgent need to cut Moscow’s energy revenues.
Zelensky’s thanks, and the U.S. question on Putin
Zelensky thanked Trump for what he called “personal efforts to stop this war,” and echoed the push for European countries to stop buying Russian oil. But Trump declined to say whether he still considered Putin a reliable negotiating partner, telling reporters: “I’ll let you know in about a month from now, okay?”
The ambiguity underscores a wider uncertainty about whether the former president’s comments represent a durable U.S. policy shift or another episode in his pattern of oscillating messages on Russia. Trump, now 79, has in recent months set repeated short deadlines for decisions on whether to impose further sanctions on Moscow — a cadence that has sometimes frustrated allies seeking clarity.
On the ground: Kupiansk and Russia’s push in Kharkiv
While diplomats debated the limits of escalation, the fighting continued. Russian forces said Wednesday they had seized a large part of the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk and intended to use that foothold to push deeper into the Kharkiv region, including toward the towns of Izium and Chuhuiv. The Russian military claimed control of more than 65% of buildings in Kupiansk.
Ukrainian officials disputed that Moscow had full control, with President Zelensky saying Kyiv was still fighting for the city and had “appropriate forces” in the area. Kupiansk, a key transport hub first captured by Russia early in the invasion and later retaken by Ukrainian forces in a 2022 counteroffensive, sits strategically along rail and road links that would be useful for further advances into eastern Ukraine.
The fighting in and around Kupiansk serves as a reminder that the conflict remains dynamic on the battlefield even as rhetoric and diplomatic maneuvering accelerate. Russian gains here would be politically useful to the Kremlin and could complicate Western calculations about where and how to draw lines that avoid direct NATO involvement.
Immediate implications and global questions
Trump’s remarks put several thorny issues back on the table. If Western allies were to heed his call for a more aggressive posture against airspace violations, NATO would face a stark choice: accept a higher risk of a direct military clash with Russia — one that could potentially spiral — or continue to rely on restraint, which allies warn may embolden further incursions.
There are practical questions as well. How would individual NATO governments respond to such a directive? Rules of engagement differ among members and any shoot-down would require national-level decisions amid fears of triggering Article 5 dynamics. Moreover, cutting Russia’s energy revenues — a policy both Trump and EU officials endorsed — would deepen the economic pressure on Moscow but also accelerate energy market disruptions that have global ripple effects.
For Kyiv, a renewed U.S. signal of support for reclaiming all territory occupied since 2014 bolsters diplomatic leverage and could energize partners to push harder on sanctions, arms deliveries and energy embargoes. Yet it also raises the specter of an expanded battlefield if Kyiv pushes to reclaim territory while Moscow feels squeezed economically and militarily.
As diplomats parcel through the consequences at the U.N., the essential question remains: are Western leaders prepared to translate forceful rhetoric into coordinated, sustained policy — and to do so in a way that deters further aggression without plunging Europe into a wider war?
For now, the diplomatic landscape is unsettled — an unsettledness felt in the halls of the U.N., in the briefing rooms of NATO capitals, and on the streets and rail lines of eastern Ukraine, where the fate of towns like Kupiansk will be decided in the coming days.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
