President Donald Trump mentioned Monday that Ukraine “might nonetheless win” its warfare with Russia however expressed doubt that it’s going to, calling the battle tough due to the animosity between the international locations’ leaders.
“I feel we’ll get there. However it’s turned out to be nasty, as a result of you will have two leaders that actually hate one another,” Trump advised reporters on the White Home Monday, including that their mutual hostility makes reaching peace “just a little bit tough.”
Why It Issues
Simply weeks earlier, after assembly with Zelensky in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. Normal Meeting, Trump mentioned he believed Ukraine might reclaim all of the territory it has misplaced to Russia because the invasion started in February 2022. The remarks represented a notable reversal for Trump, who all through his 2024 marketing campaign and far of the early a part of his presidency argued that Kyiv would wish to cede territory to safe peace with Moscow.
Requested whether or not Ukraine might nonetheless prevail, he mentioned, “They may nonetheless win it. I don’t suppose they are going to, however they might nonetheless win it. I by no means mentioned they might win it. I mentioned they might win. Something might occur. You recognize, warfare is a really unusual factor.”
What To Know
Trump additionally mentioned he had urged Russia to cease attacking Ukrainian civilians and dismissed a reporter’s query about offering Ukraine with extra assist, calling the scenario “extra difficult than that.” He mentioned his crew is “within the means of making an attempt to make a deal” and warned that if talks fail, “lots of people are going to be paying a giant worth.”
Trump on Friday urged Ukraine and Russia to “stop where they are” and bring an end to their war, following a prolonged White Home assembly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — marking one more shift in his stance on the battle.
Also Monday, Russia said its position “remains unchanged” because it responded to Trump‘s newest name to freeze the warfare in Ukraine alongside the present frontlines.
The Kremlin has beforehand rejected requires a ceasefire, saying it thinks Ukraine would use a pause within the preventing to rearm and regroup, and so would relatively go straight to negotiating a full peace deal as a substitute. It has additionally demanded that Ukraine cede extra of its territory to Russia than Moscow at present controls.
“This subject has been raised repeatedly, with varied nuances, throughout Russian-American contacts, and the Russian facet has at all times given the identical response, which is well-known: Russia’s place stays unchanged,” mentioned Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov at a press briefing on Monday, Interfax reported.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Overseas Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke by cellphone Monday to debate subsequent steps towards ending the Russia-Ukraine warfare.
Each governments launched equally obscure readouts, saying the decision constructed on understandings reached throughout Trump and Putin’s Oct. 16 dialog.
Trump mentioned afterward that he expects to satisfy with Putin within the coming weeks, and that Rubio will host a high-level Russian delegation—presumably led by Lavrov—someday this week. Neither facet, nonetheless, offered particulars about when or the place these conferences would possibly happen.
The Russian Overseas Ministry known as the Rubio-Lavrov change “constructive,” whereas the U.S. assertion mentioned Rubio “emphasised the significance of upcoming engagements as a possibility for Moscow and Washington to collaborate on advancing a sturdy decision” to the battle.
Why Did Russia Invade Ukraine?
Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, in what Putin described as a “particular army operation” to demilitarize and “de-Nazify” the nation — claims broadly dismissed by Western governments as baseless pretexts for aggression. The Kremlin additionally cited NATO’s enlargement towards Russia’s borders and Ukraine’s rising ties with the West as threats to its safety, arguing that Moscow was appearing defensively to protect its sphere of affect.
In actuality, the invasion adopted years of rising tensions after Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and its assist for separatist forces in japanese Ukraine. Analysts say Putin’s broader goal was to reassert management over Ukraine and stop it from integrating with the European Union and NATO. The warfare has since develop into Europe’s deadliest battle in a long time, reshaping world alliances and leaving tens of 1000’s useless on either side.
Updates: 10/20/25, 1:08 p.m. ET: This text was up to date with new data and remarks.
Updates: 10/20/25, 2:57 p.m. ET: This text was up to date with new data and remarks.
Updates: 10/20/25, 6:01 p.m. ET: This text was up to date with new data and remarks.
