Trump promotes return to 'original borders' in U-turn

US leader slammed Putin's 'bad leadership' and suggested Kyiv could win back all of the territory gained by Moscow

- ALEX CROFT

Donald Trump has targeted Russian leader Vladimir Putin for his “bad leadership” as he issued a fresh threat of “powerful tariffs” on Moscow.

During a nearly hour-long speech at the UN General Assembly yesterday, the US president said Russia's war in Ukraine was "making [Putin] look bad" because it was "supposed to be a little skirmish". He added: "It shows you what leadership is, what bad leadership can do to a country. The only question now is how many lives will be needlessly lost on both sides." He claimed the war has led to the deaths of between 5,000 and 7,000 young soldiers "on both sides every single week".

Shortly after his speech and a meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, the US president wrote in a post on his social media site Truth Social that he believes Ukraine can win back all of the territory Russia has taken since its invasion, although he gave no indication of how that would affect US policy.

He had previously said that both Kyiv and Moscow would have to cede land to end the war.

"With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, Nato, the original Borders from where this War started, is very much an option," Mr Trump said in his post.

Mr Zelensky has been pushing Mr Trump to show more support for Kyiv's war effort, including by imposing tough new sanctions on Russia. Many Ukrainians were shocked when Mr Trump gave Mr Putin the red carpet treatment at a mid-August summit in Alaska, and believe Moscow will not stop its war unless it faces heavy external pressure.