Trump says he does not think Ukraine can win war against Russia, but adds 'anything is possible'

Published connected 20/10/2025 - 20:49 GMT+2 •Updated 21:52

US President Donald Trump said connected Monday that he does not deliberation Ukraine tin triumph nan warfare against Russia, but added, "anything is possible".

"They could still triumph it," Trump said astatine nan White House connected Monday.

"I don't deliberation they will. They could still triumph it. I ne'er said they would triumph it ... you cognize warfare is simply a very unusual thing."

On Friday, Trump called connected Kyiv and Moscow to frost nan conflict lines and "stop wherever they are" successful a bid to extremity Russia's ongoing all-out warfare pursuing a lengthy gathering successful Washington pinch Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The comments connected Monday correspond different displacement successful Trump's position connected nan fighting.

After gathering pinch Zelenskyy successful New York connected nan sidelines of nan yearly UN General Assembly past month, Trump moreover said he believed nan Ukrainians could triumph backmost each nan territory they had mislaid to Russia since Putin launched nan full-scale penetration successful 2022.

That was a melodramatic displacement for Trump, who connected nan 2024 run way and for overmuch of nan early portion of his 2nd word arsenic president, insisted that Kyiv would person to cede onshore mislaid to Russia to extremity nan fighting.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said his reportedly tense gathering pinch Trump connected Friday was "positive" moreover though he did not unafraid nan Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said Trump reneged connected nan anticipation of sending nan long-range missiles to Ukraine, which would person been a awesome boost for Kyiv, pursuing his telephone telephone pinch Russian President Vladimir Putin hours earlier nan Ukrainian leader and US president were to meet connected Friday.

"In my opinion, he does not want an escalation pinch nan Russians until he meets pinch them," Zelenskyy told reporters connected Sunday successful comments that were embargoed until Monday.

Ukraine is hoping to acquisition 25 Patriot aerial defence systems from US firms utilizing stiff Russian assets and assistance from partners, but Zelenskyy said procuring each of these would require clip because of agelong accumulation queues.

He said he said to Trump astir thief procuring these quicker, perchance from European partners.

According to Zelenskyy, Trump said during their gathering that Putin's maximalist demands, that Ukraine cede nan entirety of Ukraine’s eastbound Donetsk and Luhansk regions, was unchanged.

Zelenskyy was negotiated astir his gathering pinch Trump contempt reports that he faced unit to judge Putin's demands, a maneuver he has kept up since nan disastrous Oval Office spat successful February erstwhile nan Ukrainian president was scolded connected unrecorded tv for allegedly not being grateful capable for continued US support.

Zelenskyy said that because Trump yet supported a frost on nan existent beforehand statement his wide connection "is positive" for Ukraine.

He said Trump was looking to extremity nan warfare and hopes his gathering successful nan coming weeks pinch Putin successful Hungary will pave nan measurement for a bid woody aft their first acme successful Alaska successful August grounded to scope specified an outcome.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said by telephone connected Monday to talk adjacent steps toward ending nan war, pursuing conversations past week betwixt presidents Trump, Zelenskyy and Putin.

Both ministries issued akin vague statements that nan speech built connected understandings reached by Trump and Putin successful their 16 October call.

After that, Trump reiterated that he expected to meet pinch Putin soon and that Rubio would meet a high-level Russian delegation, presumably led by Lavrov, this week.

Neither nan US aliases Russian statements mentioned erstwhile either of those meetings mightiness hap aliases where.

The Russian connection described Rubio-Lavrov telephone arsenic "constructive" while nan US connection said that Rubio had "emphasised nan value of upcoming engagements arsenic an opportunity for Moscow and Washington to collaborate connected advancing a durable solution of nan Russia-Ukraine war."