Trump Shifts: "Ukraine May Not Win"... EU Calls It "Wrong Strategy"

US Shifts Stance After Putin Call
EU: "Putin's Visit to Hungary Is Undesirable"

As the United States and Russia are working to arrange a summit, President Donald Trump has been showing a noticeable shift in his stance on the Russia-Ukraine war in recent days.

On October 20 (local time), after holding talks with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House, President Trump stated at a press conference regarding the Russia-Ukraine war, "I don't think they (Ukraine) will win, but they still could win."

Donald Trump, President of the United States. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

He went on to say, "I've never said they would definitely win," adding, "I only said they could win. Anything can happen."

At the end of last month, he had said, "Ukraine can not only recover its territory in its original form, but who knows, perhaps even more is possible." This sudden reversal marks a notable change in his position.

On the 11th, President Trump appeared to support Ukraine by saying he would consider providing Tomahawk missiles. However, after a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the 16th, he backtracked, saying, "We have a lot of Tomahawks, but we need them too."

The previous day, the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing sources, that during a summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the 17th, President Trump pressured him to hand over the entire Donbas region (Donetsk and Luhansk) to Russia. Ukraine maintains that it can never give up Donbas.

The European Union (EU) has expressed discomfort, both because President Trump abruptly reversed his position and because the US-Russia summit is being held in Hungary, an EU member state.

That day, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas stated at a press conference after the EU Foreign Ministers' meeting in Luxembourg that pressuring Ukraine, rather than Russia, to give up Donbas is the wrong strategy.

Regarding President Putin's visit to Hungary for the US-Russia summit, she said, "It is absolutely undesirable for a person (President Putin) subject to an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant to enter an EU country," adding, "My hope is that it would be President Zelensky, not President Trump, meeting with Putin." Meanwhile, President Zelensky announced that he is ready to join the US-Russia summit.