Ukrainians cautious as Trump shifts stance and says they can win war with Russia

Firefighters try to put out a fire following a Russian drone attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Picture: Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP

Ukrainians have been cautious in their response to a surprise pivot in US President Donald Trump’s views on their prospects for defeating Russia’s invasion, after he said they could win the three-year war and retake land captured by Russia.

Some expressed hope that Mr Trump’s words would be backed up by concrete support for Ukraine in Washington, while others were wary about the American president’s unpredictability.

“We need such support from America, from Donald Trump, and we hope that this will continue in the future – the same rhetoric, the same attitude toward us, toward Ukraine, and toward the war in Ukraine,” Olha Voronina, a 66-year-old Kyiv resident, said.

Volodymyr Cheslavskyi, a 48-year-old soldier recovering from a war wound, said he considered Mr Trump to be more interested in making money than helping Ukraine, and kept people guessing about his true intentions with contradictory statements.

“He can say different things each time – he supports Ukraine, or he does not support Ukraine,” Mr Cheslavskyi told The Associated Press (AP) in St Michael’s Square in the Ukrainian capital.

Anna Khudimova, 43, said she believed her country’s armed forces could prevail on the battlefield against Russia’s bigger army.

“But we cannot do it without the help of Nato, without the support of Europe,” she said.

“If Trump influences the situation, then perhaps this can be realistic.”

Russia has occupied around 20% of Ukraine since it annexed Crimea in 2014.

The all-out invasion began in February 2022.

In comments on Tuesday at the United Nations and on social media, Mr Trump took a swipe at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s leadership, made cutting remarks about Russia’s military prowess and derided the Russian economy’s performance.

What remains important to us is not only Trump’s words, but also whether he fulfils the earlier promises regarding decisive sanctions

He also said Nato countries should shoot down Russian warplanes entering their airspace.

Mr Trump’s comments were an unanticipated departure from his previous positions on the war, when he has been publicly cool, even at times hostile, towards Ukraine and apparently more amenable to Mr Putin.

After taking office in January, Mr Trump reversed the three-year US policy of isolating Russia when he called Mr Putin.

He has also ruled out the possibility of Ukraine joining Nato, has said Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would need to negotiate swapping land in return for a peace deal with Moscow, and on social media called Mr Zelenskyy “a Dictator without Elections”.

A senior Ukrainian legislator said Mr Trump’s latest remarks were unexpected but important.

“What remains important to us is not only Trump’s words, but also whether he fulfils the earlier promises regarding decisive sanctions” on Russia, Oleksandr Merezhko, chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Co-operation, told the AP.

Mr Zelenskyy and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov were due to address the UN General Assembly later on Wednesday.

Mr Trump said on social media on Tuesday: “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.”

There are no paper bears. Russia is a real bear

Russia’s state television channels cast Mr Trump’s comments as part of his efforts to shift the burden of dealing with the conflict to Europe and encourage it to buy more American weapons.

Speaking to Russian news outlet RBC, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow disagrees with Mr Trump’s comments, adding that they could have been influenced by the US president’s meeting on Tuesday with Mr Zelenskyy.

Mr Peskov countered Mr Trump’s description of Russia’s economic woes, arguing that despite some problems the Russian economy has remained strong.

He also dismissed the American president’s description of Russia as a “paper tiger”.

“Russia isn’t a tiger, it’s more associated with a bear,” he said.

“There are no paper bears. Russia is a real bear.”

Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president who serves as deputy head of the Security Council chaired by Mr Putin, scoffed at Mr Trump’s comments as an “alternative reality”.

He predicted that the US president could change his mind again soon.