Donald Trump and President Zelenskyy reportedly clash again over Russia in tense meeting
United States President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have reportedly clashed once again over Russia in their latest meeting.
Trump has said that he doesn't believe Ukraine will win the war against Russia in February 2022 when the superpower invaded the Eastern European nation, starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II.
His statements came just a matter of hours after it emerged that the 79-year-old Republican had demanded that Kyiv cede land to end the war.
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Trump described having 'one more to go' when it comes to settling wars, stating: "It's Russia and Ukraine, and I think we'll get there but it's turned out to be nasty because you have two leaders that truly hate each other.
"They hate each other beyond all else, and it makes it actually a little bit difficult."
"They could still win it, I don't think they will," Trump continued, during a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House.
He added: "But they could still win it. I never said they would win it. I said they could win, anything can happen. War is a very strange thing, a lot of bad things happen."
Trump's recent remarks are a marked change from his comments a few weeks back at a United Nations gathering in New York where he said Ukraine could retake 'all of its territory'.
He also took to Truth Social last month, claiming that Ukraine could retake its borders currently occupied by Russian forces.
"Ukraine would be able to take back their Country in its original form and, who knows, maybe even go further than that!" Trump wrote at the time.
"I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight," he added.
The comments come after the two world leaders met in Washington on Friday (17 October), where Trump reportedly told Zelenskyy to accept Russian leader Vladimir Putin's terms.
According to the Financial Times, Trump said Putin would 'destroy' Ukraine if it did not concede to his terms.
The meeting in question was later described as positive by Zelenskyy.
"In my opinion, he does not want an escalation with the Russians until he meets with them," Zelenskyy said.
"After many rounds of discussion over more than two hours with him and his team, his message, in my view, is positive."
However, Ukraine did not secure the long-range Tomahawk missiles it had hoped for.
The Financial Times reported that Zelenskyy was met with raised voices and condemnation by Trump and his cabinet as they discussed the ongoing war.
Topics: Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Politics, US News, World News, Russia, Europe
Rhiannon Ingle