The Kremlin responds to Trump's statement that encouraging Ukraine to reclaim occupied territories is a "mistake."

WashingtonIn a surprising twist, Donald Trump now says Ukraine could reclaim all of the territory occupied by Russia since the start of the war by 2022. "I believe Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and win all of Ukraine back to its original form," the president wrote. He even hinted that he could reclaim the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014: "Ukraine may be able to reclaim its original territory, and who knows, maybe even go beyond that!"

This Wednesday, the Kremlin responded, expressing its displeasure. "The fact that they are trying in every way to encourage Ukraine to continue military action... This thesis that Ukraine can reclaim anything is, in our opinion, wrong," said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov during his daily telephone press conference.

Trump wrote this post shortly after speaking at the UN General Assembly and meeting face-to-face with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as part of the high-level diplomatic week in New York.

Washington demands "significant steps" to stop the war.

This Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his US counterpart, Marco Rubio, met. The meeting, held behind closed doors, lasted about 50 minutes, and images show a long table with seven members of each delegation on either side. According to a statement from the US State Department, Rubio "reiterated President Trump's call for an end to the killings" as well as the need for Moscow "to take meaningful steps toward a lasting resolution to the war between Russia and Ukraine."

The meeting took place after Trump's harsh statements yesterday during his speech at the UN General Assembly, where he called Russia a "paper tiger" and "looking bad" because it has been fighting for three and a half years in a war that, in his opinion, it intended to win. The Kremlin replied that Russia is not a tiger, but a bear, and that "there are no paper bears."

All of this demonstrates a cooling of relations between Trump and Vladimir Putin, a month and a half after they met in Alaska in an attempt to find a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine.

Trump's statement about the possibility of Ukraine winning the war and recovering occupied territories means a significant change of tone in the US president's speech, who has said on several occasions that Kiev should make territorial concessions if he wants to end the war. He hinted at this again a month ago, when he met at the White House with the Ukrainian president and European leaders: he once again put on the table the need to cede territory to end the conflict.

"With time, patience, and the economic support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original borders from where this war began are a very valid option," said the president, who argued his decision was the result of "fully knowing and understanding the military and economic situation in Ukraine and Russia."

Trump also once again poked at Russia, which he mocked this morning during his speech at the UN. From the Assembly podium, the US president said that the duration of the war—which has been going on for more than three and a half years—“makes Russia look bad” because, in his view, Putin intended the war to last “less than a week.” In this afternoon's post, he called Moscow a “paper tiger.”

“Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years in a war that should have been won by a real military power in less than a week. This does not distinguish Russia. In fact, it makes them look very much like a paper tiger,” he wrote.

Foretells unrest within Russia

The president said that "when the people who live in Moscow" find out "what's really going on with this war, it's almost impossible for them to get gas because of the long lines that form, and all the other things that are going on in their war economy, where most of their money is being spent fighting Ukraine. "Putin and Russia have a big economic problem and this is the time for Ukraine to act," Trump insisted.

The president also assured that Washington "will continue to supply weapons to NATO, so NATO can do what it wants." The statement distances himself from the conflict. Since arriving at the White House, Trump has indicated that it is a problem for the European Union and not the United States, and claimed that there is "an ocean in between." Trump speaks of NATO practically as if Washington were not part of the Alliance and highlights "Europe's economic support" under the logic that now, with the commitment to increase investment in defense, EU member countries will end up buying more weapons in the United States. United States.

During the bilateral meeting with Zelensky, Trump told reporters that he believes NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter their airspace. The last few days Poland and Estonia (members of the Alliance) have reported cases of Russian aircraft flying over their airspace.

This would mean a dangerous escalation of the conflict that could draw all allies into a larger conflict with Russia. Although Washington is part of the Atlantic Alliance and, according to Article 5, all members are required to defend each other in the event of aggression, Trump has said that his support for the allies "would depend on the circumstances."