Trump calls on NATO to shoot down Russian jets that breach airspace as he declares Kyiv can 'win back all of Ukraine'
Multiple Russian incursions have breached NATO territory in the past weeks
President Trump has said he believes Ukraine can win all its land back from Russia as he called on NATO to shoot down Kremlin jets that violate its airspace.
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US President Donald Trump joined Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a meeting in New York on Tuesday.
Mr Trump was asked by reporters whether he thinks NATO should shoot down Russian planes if they enter its airspace.
"Yes, I do," the president replied.
This comes after multiple Russian incursions into NATO territory.
A drone attack during the night of September 10 saw approximately 20 Russian drones enter Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine, with some intercepted by NATO aircraft for the first time as a response.
This was followed by three Russian MiG-31 fighters entering Estonian airspace for around 12 minutes on September 19, which caused Estonia to invoke Article 4 over the escalated security threat.
Read More: US would defend Poland from Russian attack says Trump
Mr Trump met with Mr Zelenskyy at a bilateral meeting during the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
He was warm towards Mr Zelenskyy, calling him "a great man" who is "putting up one hell of a fight".
"We have great respect for the fight Ukraine is putting up, it's pretty amazing actually," he added.
After his meeting with Mr Zelenskyy, Mr Trump took to TruthSocial to say Ukraine "can win its whole country back" as he declared Russia is in "big trouble."
"I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form," he said.
"Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years a War that should have taken a Real Military Power less than a week to win.
"This is not distinguishing Russia. In fact, it is very much making them look like 'a paper tiger.'"
Speaking following the meeting, Mr Zelenskyy told the UN Security Council that he spoke about peace plans with Mr Trump.
"We spoke about how to finally bring peace and we discussed a few good ideas and I hope they will work," he said.
"We expect America to push Russia towards peace. Moscow fears America and always pays attention to it."
"The United Kingdom is here, a prominent member of the Security Council, France is here, also a prominent member."
He added that both countries "support us, support our people, our independence, both promote diplomacy".
"If there is no war in the sky, Russia can't keep fighting on the ground," he continued.
Mr Zelenskyy added: "Ukraine wants peace more than anyone in the world, the front is on our land and we mourn our people, Russia is... blind to its own losses.""What we need now is a strong push to bring Russia towards peace."
Former Head of the British Army Lord Dannatt told LBC, "in theory, he is right" following the President's remarks.
He told Iain Dale: "I think in theory he is right, but I think it has to be weighed up as to whether that is the right thing to do.
"Nobody, I think probably even including Donald Trump wants to start the Third World War.
"So there are other ways that a situation like that can be handled. Flying NATO aircraft alongside a Russian aircraft, indicating it should leave the airspace.
"The stakes are very high at the present moment.
"Yes, as we've seen with the drones going into Poland, as we've seen with incursions into Estonian airspace. I think Vladimir Putin is undoubtedly testing NATO to see what our response is.
"Probably in some ways would quite like to provoke an overreaction."
British jets are ready to “confront” Russian planes violating NATO airspace, the Foreign Secretary has told the UN, as she accused Moscow of risking “direct armed confrontation”.
Yvette Cooper condemned recent Russian incursions into NATO airspace as she addressed the UN Security Council for the first time as Foreign Secretary.
She said: “They are a deliberate attempt to undermine the territorial integrity of sovereign nations and European security.
“They risk miscalculation. They open the door to direct armed confrontation between NATO and Russia.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Trump delivered a frenzied 55-minute address where he told delegates, "your countries are going to hell".
He claimed that Europe is in "serious trouble" as migrants are "pouring" into the continent.
He added that "nobody's doing anything to change it, to get them out" and that people are being too "politically correct."
