President Donald Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy he was open to lifting restrictions on Ukraine’s use of American-made long-range weapons to strike inside Russia, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a senior U.S. official and a Ukrainian official.

During their sideline discussion at the United Nations, Zelenskyy asked Trump for more long-range missiles and approval to use such weapons to strike targets on sovereign Russian territory. According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump replied that he didn’t oppose the idea, though he made no firm commitment to reverse a U.S. ban on such attacks.

Trump’s remarks mark a striking shift from his prior posture toward Ukraine, when he often insisted Kyiv agree to concessions. In earlier statements and negotiations, The Wall Street Journal editorialized that Trump “has been making concessions to Vladimir Putin without anything in return” (Wall Street Journal, “Peace Through Weakness in Ukraine?”). The paper also reported that the Trump administration had pressed Kyiv to accept new economic conditions and structural reforms as part of any peace deal (Wall Street Journal, “White House Makes Fresh Economic Demands of Ukraine as Russia Talks Stall”).

Now, Trump is signaling a more assertive stance: that Ukraine might indeed be capable of defeating Russia and reclaiming lost ground. On the sidelines of the U.N., by responding that he was “open” to removal of the long-range strike restriction, he left room for a deeper policy turn. Though he declined to make a binding commitment, his shift suggests he may be rethinking his earlier caution.

If carried through, the new position could allow Ukraine to extend its reach and strike deeper into Russian-held territory—altering the balance on both battlefield and diplomatic fronts. The Wall Street Journal captured the tone of the pivot in its headline: “Trump Says Ukraine Can Take Back All Lost Territory” (Wall Street Journal, “Trump Says Ukraine Can Take Back All Lost Territory”).

In public comments, Trump has gone further, declaring that Ukraine could “win back all territory lost to Russia,” including Crimea, provided it receives strong backing from NATO and European allies, the Associated Press reported (AP, “Trump says Ukraine can take back all lost territory”).

In reframing his expectations, Trump is effectively reinterpreting his earlier calls for compromise as rooted in a more limited confidence in Ukraine’s capacities. Now he appears to place greater faith in Ukraine’s ability to prevail militarily—with sufficient external support. The consequences could be profound, potentially raising the stakes of U.S. involvement while reshaping both diplomacy and battlefield realities.