• Shift occurs after Trump and Zelensky meet at UN.
• Trump says Russia bracing for economic problems.
• Kyiv welcomes shift, but no sign of US policy changes.

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he believed Ukraine could retake all its land occupied by Russia and that Kyiv should act now, with Moscow facing “big” economic problems, in a sudden and striking rhetorical shift in Ukraine’s favour.

But there was no sign that Trump’s words would be matched by a change in US policy, such as a decision to impose the heavy new sanctions on Moscow sought by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as he travelled to New York this week.

“Putin and Russia are in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, shortly after meeting Zelensky on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

“After seeing the Economic trouble (the war) is causing Russia, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form,” he said.

That would ostensibly require Kyiv to expel Russian forces from 20% of its territory, including the Crimean peninsula Moscow has held since 2014, in what would be an extraordinary reversal.

Trump has previously suggested Kyiv should consider giving up territory in order to make peace, fueling Ukrainian fears of behind-the-scenes talks for a deal that would seek to recognise its occupied lands as legally Russian.

Europe’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, praised Trump’s statements, saying: “These have been very strong statements that we haven’t heard before in such formats, so it is really good that we are in the same understanding now.”

Good, constructive meeting

The US president’s tone was in stark contrast to his red-carpet treatment for Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Alaska last month, part of an ostensible push to expedite an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Zelensky told reporters at a briefing that he had a “good, constructive” meeting with Trump, declining to go into detail, while praising Trump’s statement on Truth Social as a “big shift.”

Zelensky later told Fox News that he thought the positions of the Ukrainian and US teams were “closer than any time before,” and that he thought Trump’s position had changed.

The US statement criticised Russia, saying it had been fighting “aimlessly” in a war that a “real military power” would have won in less than a week. That, Trump added, made Russia look very much like a “paper tiger”.

Nonetheless, the only firm commitment from Trump on Truth Social was to “continue to supply weapons to NATO for NATO to do what they want with them,” an apparent reference to a new mechanism allowing European countries to buy US weapons for Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s remarks to the UN Security Council suggested the United States had not given up hope of a peaceful resolution.

“This war needs to end. But if it does not, if there is no path to peace in the short term, then the United States and President Donald J. Trump will take the steps necessary to impose costs for continued aggression.”

Zelensky has been urging the United States to ramp up sanctions pressure on Russia to coerce it into entering negotiations to end the war launched in February 2022, a call he repeated at the United Nations.

Addressing the General Assembly earlier, Trump said he was ready to impose strong economic measures if Russia did not end its war, but that allies would have to do the same. He also derided some European powers for continuing to buy Russian oil.

Zelensky said he and Trump discussed Russia’s stuttering economy and “there was an understanding” that Trump would be ready to provide security guarantees to Ukraine when the war ended.

He said that Trump had the power to prove a “game-changer” for Ukraine in the war. Zelensky noted China retained influence over Russia, though he added he had seen no sign from Beijing that it wanted the war over.

Speaking to reporters, Russia’s Deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy played down the significance of Trump’s statement on Truth Social.

“Don’t get so excited about every tweet,” said Polyanskiy.

Former Democratic US Representative Tom Malinowski said the Trump statement was “an amazing 180-degree turn, which might not last long”.

Malinowski, also a former assistant US secretary of state, added on X: “But Putin will have only one question back. What more is Trump actually going to do to help Ukraine win? If nothing, then it’s just words.”

• Trump hails meeting Muslim leaders and praises their efforts.
• Proposes Israeli withdrawal and Gaza rule without Hamas.
• US seeks Arab troops and funds for Gaza’s rebuilding.

US President Donald Trump’s meeting with leaders of Muslim-majority nations, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly focused on the situation in Gaza and the wider Middle East.

Participants included Turkiye, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Egypt, the UAE and Jordan.

The meeting lasted about 50 minutes. Calling it an honour to meet the heads of Islamic countries, Trump praised their collective efforts, saying, “You all have done an excellent job, which is commendable.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan described the talks as extremely productive. None of the other Muslim leaders spoke to the media after the meeting.

He also outlined US plans for an Israeli withdrawal and post-war governance in Gaza without Hamas involvement, according to US media. 

Washington is seeking Arab and Muslim nations’ agreement to send troops to Gaza to enable Israel’s withdrawal and to fund transition and rebuilding programmes, Axios reported.

Israel faces global condemnation over its military conduct in Gaza, where local health authorities say more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed.

 In recent weeks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has begun a long-threatened ground assault on Gaza City, with no ceasefire in sight.

This is an ongoing story and is being updated with additional details.

• Trump hails meeting Muslim leaders and praises their efforts.
• Proposes Israeli withdrawal and Gaza rule without Hamas.
• US seeks Arab troops and funds for Gaza’s rebuilding.

US President Donald Trump’s meeting with leaders of Muslim-majority nations, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly focused on the situation in Gaza and the wider Middle East.

Participants included Turkiye, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Egypt, the UAE and Jordan.

The 50-minute meeting saw Trump call it an honour to meet Islamic leaders and praise their efforts, saying, “You all have done an excellent job, which is commendable.” 

The Turkish President described the talks as extremely productive. None of the other Muslim leaders spoke to the media after the meeting.

Later, Trump declared the meeting extremely important and spoke to the media about ending the Gaza war, saying it could possibly be concluded soon. He added, “We are going to end something that we did not start.”

He also outlined US plans for an Israeli withdrawal and post-war governance in Gaza without Hamas involvement, according to US media. 

Washington is seeking Arab and Muslim nations’ agreement to send troops to Gaza to enable Israel’s withdrawal and to fund transition and rebuilding programmes, Axios reported.

As per Al-Jazeera, the Gaza plan was reportedly not drafted by Israel, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been made aware of the details. It is believed to envisage some future involvement by the Palestinian Authority (PA), something Israel has repeatedly said it will not tolerate.

Israel faces global condemnation over its military conduct in Gaza, where local health authorities say more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed. 

In recent weeks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has begun a long-threatened ground assault on Gaza City, with no ceasefire in sight.

But Washington remains Israel’s staunchest ally.

The US and Israel boycotted a summit in New York on Monday convened by France and Saudi Arabia, where dozens of world leaders gathered at the United Nations to embrace a Palestinian state.

No matter how many countries recognise Palestinian independence, full UN membership would require approval by the Security Council, where the United States has a veto that it frequently uses to oppose resolutions that are critical of Israel.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres backed the moves for recognition while speaking at the Security Council later on Tuesday.

“This is the clearest path to a two-State solution: Israel and an independent, sovereign, democratic, viable and contiguous State of Palestine,” he said. “We must seize this momentum.”