US President Donald Trump held a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday, emphasising support for Ukraine amid the ongoing war. During his bilateral meeting, Donald Trump took a firm stance on NATO’s response to Russian aggression.
When asked whether NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter allied airspace, Trump responded unequivocally, “Yes, I do.”
REPORTER: “Do you think that NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter their airspace?”@POTUS: “Yes, I do.” pic.twitter.com/jiiQJFA0FB
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 23, 2025
He also praised Ukraine’s resistance, noting, “The biggest progress is that the Russian economy is terrible right now… and that frankly, Ukraine is doing a very good job of stopping this very large army… This was supposed to be quick—so Russia doesn’t look very distinguished having taken three and a half years…”
VIDEO | New York: US president Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
US president Donald Trump says, “The President is a great man. We have lot of meetings scheduled today. But this is an important one. We have great respect for the… pic.twitter.com/lseHA2GC35
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 23, 2025
“The President is a great man. We have a lot of meetings scheduled today. But this is an important one. We have great respect for the fight that Ukraine is putting up,” Trump said, praising Zelenskyy’s leadership.
Responding, Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for Trump’s personal involvement and discussed pressing issues. “Thank you for your personal efforts to stop this war. Just now we’ll have meeting about Ukrainian children. Thank you for millennials’ personal involvement to this topic. And this is very important. We have good news. Of course, we want to stop the war and with your help, first of all. And it’s good that our soldiers occupied at 360 kilometres this month. And, of course, we will speak about how to finish the war and about security guarantees. A lot of things to discuss,” he said, as per news agency PTI.
NATO Action Against Russian Aircraft
During the meeting, Trump reiterated his support for NATO nations taking decisive measures against Russian aggression. When asked whether NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft that enter their airspace, Trump responded, “Yes, I do.”
He further highlighted Ukraine’s resistance, noting, “The biggest progress is that the Russian economy is terrible right now… and that frankly, Ukraine is doing a very good job of stopping this very large army… This was supposed to be quick—so Russia doesn’t look very distinguished having taken three and a half years…”
Earlier, in his address to the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, Trump sharply criticised India and China for continuing to purchase Russian oil, calling them “the primary funders of the ongoing war.”
India has reacted strongly, calling the US tariffs “unjustified and unreasonable” and affirming that it will take “all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security.”
Trump warned that NATO countries had not sufficiently cut off Russian energy imports, saying, “Think of it, they’re funding the war against themselves. Who the hell ever heard of that one? In the event that Russia is not ready to make a deal to end the war, then the US is fully prepared to impose a very strong round of powerful tariffs, which would stop the bloodshed, I believe, very quickly.”
He added that for tariffs to be effective, European nations “all of you are gathered here right now, would have to join us in adopting the exact same measures. I mean, you’re much closer to the city. We have an ocean in between, you’re right there, and Europe has to step it up. They can’t be doing what they’re doing, they’re buying oil and gas from Russia while they’re fighting Russia. It’s embarrassing to them, and it was very embarrassing to them when I found out about it, I can tell you that. But they have to immediately cease all energy purchases from Russia, otherwise, we’re all wasting a lot of time. So I’m ready to discuss this. We’re going to discuss it today with the European nations all gathered here.”
“Sure, they’re thrilled to hear me speak about it, but that’s the way it is. I like to speak my mind and speak the truth,” Trump concluded.
