Trump and Zelensky at UN signal shift in Ukraine war stance

President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week as the two men signaled an unexpected shift in rhetoric that could affect the course of the three and a half year war with Russia. Trump publicly declared that Ukraine could "win back all of Ukraine" and described Russia as a "paper tiger" in a social media post, while Zelensky used his U.N. address the following day to warn of a rapidly escalating arms race driven by drones and artificial intelligence and to press for more military support to counter Moscow.

Trump’s comment marked a notable departure from earlier statements in which he urged Kyiv to consider territorial concessions to end the fighting. U.S. and Ukrainian officials who attended the meeting said Trump indicated he was open to easing current restrictions on how U.S. supplied long range weapons are used, though he did not commit to a specific policy change. Zelensky told the U.S. president he had requested a long range precision weapon that could reach Moscow, saying its mere presence could pressure Russian leaders to negotiate. Zelensky added that possession of such a...