MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Thursday that it assumed US President Donald Trump was still committed to work toward achieving peace in Ukraine, after the US leader abruptly shifted his rhetoric in Kyiv’s favor earlier this week. Trump said on Tuesday after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he believed that Kyiv could recapture all of its land taken by Russia – which controls around one-fifth of the country – and that it should act now, with Moscow facing economic problems.

The US leader’s comments represent a stunning turnaround from his previous call for Kyiv to concede territory to end the war.

The president posted on Truth Social after he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.