Trump says Ukraine could win war with Russia, but it’s unlikely

President Trump said Monday that Ukraine could win its more than two-year war with Russia, but the odds of victory are unlikely.

“They could still win. I don’t think they will, but they could still win it,” Mr. Trump said at the White House alongside Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

“Anything can happen,” Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Trump’s comments come after a tense White House meeting on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is urging the U.S. to give him long-range cruise missiles.

However, Mr. Zelenskyy walked away empty handed even after proposing to trade Ukrainian drones for the missiles, known as Tomahawks.

The Ukrainian president was also reportedly upbraided by Mr. Trump, who pressed him to accept Russia’s terms for ending the war, which includes handing over the entire eastern territory of Donbas. Russian President Vladimir Putin has long desired Donbas.

In his meeting with Mr. Zelenskyy, the U.S. president warned him that Mr. Putin had told him that if Ukraine does not agree to Russia’s demands, Moscow would “destroy” Ukraine. The meeting reportedly descended into a shouting match, with Mr. Trump “cursing all the time,” according to a Financial Times report.

Speaking to reporters Sunday on Air Force One, Mr. Trump said Donbas is “cut the way it is.”

“It’s cut up right now, I think 78% of the land is already taken by Russia,” he said. “They should stop right now at the battle lines. … Go home, stop killing people and be done.”

In a Truth Social post, Mr. Trump described the meeting as “very interesting and cordial,” but said he “strongly suggested” to both leaders that it was time to end the war.

“Let both claim Victory, let history decide!” Mr. Trump wrote in the post.

Mr. Trump’s comment that victory for Ukraine is unlikely appears to signal a shift in his stance from last month, when he said Ukraine could win back its territory with the help of the European Union.

After meeting with Mr. Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social that “Ukraine would be able to take back their country in its original form, and who knows, maybe go even further than that.”

However, Mr. Trump made it clear Monday that he never said Ukraine would win.

“I said they could win. Anything could happen. You know, war is a very strange thing. A lot of bad things happen. A lot of good things happen,” he said.