Kyiv: The war map of Ukraine flickered with fresh uncertainty this week after a stunning declaration from United States President Donald Trump. For the first time since the Russian invasion, the White House strongman said Ukraine could restore its borders and reclaim the territory Moscow seized.
“Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account on Tuesday.
His words came as a jolt. They sounded more like a battle cry than the measured tones of diplomacy.
But in Kyiv, the reaction was cautious. Analysts and generals heard the words, and they heard the silence behind them.
Volodymyr Fesenko, who leads the Penta think tank in Kyiv, dismissed the notion of a genuine U-turn. “Don’t consider Trump’s words as a signal to return to the 1991 borders. They are a rhetoric formula Trump uses to express sympathies, positive emotions towards Ukraine. They are a signal, a way of pressuring (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, in a rhetoric way so far,” he told Al Jazeera.
He said there won’t be any revolutionary and sensational steps, no game-changer and no single decision that can change everything.
Trump himself highlighted that message in his own way. He pinned responsibility on Brussels and NATO, not Washington, insisting it is Europe’s fight to bankroll.
Fesenko explained why: “Trump thinks like a businessman. He sees and receives information that Russia’s economic situation is getting worse.”
Western sanctions, a stalled economy, inflation, budget shortfalls and rising interest rates have squeezed Moscow. Russia’s war-driven growth has begun to cool.
Fesenko added that Trump’s motive was not victory for Ukraine but closure for the war itself. “Trump does not want Ukraine to win the war. He wants the war to be over. His goals did not change. That is why he sends signals to Putin,” he said.
The Kremlin wasted no time firing back. Moscow dismissed Trump’s remarks as “mistaken” and vowed to fight on.
Inside Ukraine, generals wrestled with a harsher truth. Lieutenant General Ihor Romanenko, former deputy chief of the general staff, said Trump’s words were not his own. “Trump’s U-turn does not reflect his personal assessment because he is not capable of such an assessment. This is a realistic plan of someone on his team,” he said, pointing toward the Pentagon, intelligence agencies and the Congress.
Romanenko spelled out what he believes Ukraine must do. All men of fighting age should be mobilised without exception. The economy should shift completely to serve the war effort. Martial law should come with tougher penalties for draft evasion and corruption. It will not be easy. Mobilisation has already sparked anger and criticism across the country.
Meanwhile, the battlefield grinds on. Moscow’s summer push has chewed through 2,000 square kilometres, an area roughly the size of Luxembourg. Russian units have pressed deeper into Donetsk and Zaporizhia, inching toward strategic strongholds.
“They did not succeed in what they planned, but they still have resources. We see how they advance,” Romanenko warned.
Putin in March had promised an offensive to “finish off” Ukraine’s resistance. His forces already hold Luhansk, the smallest occupied region, and now move against Donetsk.
For Kyiv, survival depends on firepower. More HIMARS, more Patriot batteries, more armour and more F-16s – even the obsolete and decommissioned. “Ukraine needs 100,000 all-terrain vehicles to fight at the front,” said Nikolay Mitrokhin of Germany’s Bremen University.
According to him, it is impossible to contemplate the return to the 1991 borders.
Drones, he explained, have made armoured breakthroughs a death trap. Poor tactical leadership has wasted weapons and lives. Kyiv’s failed counteroffensives in 2022 and 2023 scar the landscape with that reminder.
Ukraine can strike only in pockets, Mitrokhin said, citing surprise advances like Izium in 2022 or Kursk in 2024. The Black Sea’s Kinburn Peninsula may be next. But grand dreams of a full restoration look like smoke.
Fesenko’s warning echoed through Kyiv’s corridors. Trump’s words may sound like support, but they are a mirror held up to Putin. “He will help, yes, indirectly. He will not play on our side,” Fesenko said.
Trump has lit a fuse with his post. Whether it sparks hope in Ukraine, leverage in Brussels or fresh defiance in Moscow remains to be seen.