Trump calls Russia a ‘paper tiger,’ says Ukraine is strong enough to take back all occupied territory

After endorsing NATO strikes on any Russian warplanes that violate Allied airspace, U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to raise his support for Ukraine, declaring on social media that Ukraine can win back its entire occupied territory “in its original form” and “maybe even go further than that.” 

Trump said multiple times on Tuesday, while meeting with world leaders at the U.N., that Russia’s performance in Ukraine is not “distinguished.” On social media, he argued that Moscow’s failure to gain more territory in Ukraine over more than three years “is very much making them look like ‘a paper tiger.’” While speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump warned that the war “looks like it’s not going to end for a long time.”

The U.S. president’s remarks mark a sharp departure from his campaign rhetoric, when Trump vowed to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours. Even since taking office in January, Trump has regularly characterized Kyiv’s chances against Moscow as hopeless and pressured the Zelensky administration to accept the Kremlin’s capitulation terms.

Trump’s apparent change of heart comes amid a series of violations by Russian warplanes of NATO members’ airspace. The intrusions in recent weeks include more than a dozen drones entering Poland, as well as other incidents in Romania and Estonia. Norway also reported three separate airspace intrusions by Russian warplanes in 2025. In response to an Article 4 declaration by the Polish government after a Russian drone incursion earlier this month, the alliance launched “Operation Eastern Sentry,” establishing collective policies and procedures for aerial defense on NATO’s eastern flank. Quoting Trump’s support for shooting down any Russian aircraft that enter NATO airspace in the future, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski tweeted, “Roger that.”