President Donald Trump said Monday that he thinks Ukraine has a chance of defeating Russia, but he now doubts it will happen.
The comments reinforced new skepticism about Kiev, as Trump plans to hold face-to-face talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest, Hungary, in the coming weeks to try to end the war.
“They still have a chance to win. I don’t think they can win, but they still have a chance to win,” Trump told reporters Monday at the beginning of a White House meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
President Trump last month reversed his long-held position that Ukraine must make land concessions and could regain all territory lost to Russia.
But after a lengthy phone call with President Vladimir Putin last week, followed by talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, President Trump reversed course again, calling on Kiev and Moscow to “stop the status quo” and end the brutal war.
MNA/