In a significant policy shift, US President Donald Trump said Ukraine is “in a position to fight and WIN” its lost territory from Russia, provided it has strong backing from the European Union and NATO.

In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump argued that Moscow is faltering both militarily and economically. “After fully understanding the Ukraine/Russia situation, I think Ukraine, with European support, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form,” he wrote.

Trump dismissed Russia’s war strategy as ineffective, calling it a “paper tiger.” “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,” he added.

Despite his optimism for Kyiv, Trump distanced Washington from direct involvement, wishing “good luck to all” and noting the US would continue supplying weapons to NATO for distribution.

Earlier, while meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the UN General Assembly, Trump endorsed shooting down Russian aircraft violating NATO airspace. He praised Ukraine’s resilience, saying the US has “great respect” for its fight.

In his UNGA address, Trump criticized Europe for “funding the war against themselves” by purchasing Russian energy and urged allies to join the US in imposing stronger sanctions if Moscow refuses to negotiate.

The remarks come a month after Trump’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska failed to yield progress toward ending the war.