King Charles played a key role in Donald Trump’s recent change of mind on the Ukraine war, it has emerged.
Charles’s talks with the US President during his state visit last week were ‘very important’ in the policy reversal, Volodymyr Zelensky’s top adviser has said.
Mr Trump claimed this week that Ukraine could take back all its territory won by the Russians in their invasion – in stark contrast to his earlier position.
The dramatic change of heart comes just over a month after Trump agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin on a potential peace plan involving Ukraine ceding its land to the invading Russian forces.
The President’s new thinking was evident in comments online made after he met the Ukrainian president at the United Nations in New York.
‘After seeing the economic trouble it is causing Russia, 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,’ the president wrote on Truth Social Tuesday afternoon after meetings at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
‘With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original Borders from where this War started, is very much an option.’
Trump noted in his lengthy statement that Russia looks like ‘a paper tiger’ that may not be able to support its lofty military ambitions with a depleted force. He claimed a ‘real military power’ would have been able to win the war in less than a week.
King Charles’s talks with the US President during his state visit last week were ‘very important’ in changing his thinking about Russia, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s top adviser has said
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during the 80th United Nations General Assembly, in New York City on September 23, 2025
Following the UN meeting, Donald Trump took to Truth Social to claim that Ukraine, ‘with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form’ – a huge u-turn from his previous position that Ukraine would need to cede territory to Russia if it was to achieve a lasting peace
The Republican leader also committed to giving NATO additional weapons so they can continue supplying Ukraine with munitions, vehicles and more in its war effort.
It comes right after Trump insisted that NATO nations should feel emboldened to shoot down Russian planes if they enter their countries’ airspace.
The development in the US President’s thinking comes after Russian drones crossed into Polish airspace this week amid the ongoing war with Ukraine. Russian jets also provoked the U.S.’s European allies in recent days after flying fighter jets into NATO airspace.
Asked if the Ukrainians had changed Mr Trump’s stance, Mr Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak instead highlighted the role of the King and prime minister Sir Keir Starmer.
‘I’d like to mention that it was a great visit of President Trump to the United Kingdom, and I know the position of His Majesty, the position of Prime Minister Starmer and the people whom President Trump met… it was very important,’ he said.
Charles hosted the Trumps at Windsor Castle, and he spoke about Ukraine in his speech at the State Banquet, telling the President: ‘In two world wars, we fought together to defeat the forces of tyranny.
‘Today, as tyranny once again threatens Europe, we and our allies stand together in support of Ukraine, to deter aggression and secure peace.’
The King, a staunch supporter of Ukrainian resistance against the Russian invasion, is also believed to have discussed the situation in private during the state visit.
The US president clearly relished the ceremonial welcome during his state visit – with Ukrainian aides crediting Charles’ shrewd diplomacy with helping to shift Mr Trump’s position
Mr Trump was treated to a state banquet in St George’s Hall, Windsor Castle. Pictured: the banquet table set out for guests ahead of Mr Trump’s arrival
‘This is truly one of the highest honours of my life,’ Donald Trump said in a speech rich in praise for both the King and Britain at the state banquet
Thanking him for his hospitality, Mr Trump described Charles as a ‘very, very special man’ during his dinner speech.
On Wednesday, the Kremlin hit back at the US President’s U-turn, saying that Russia’s economy fully satisfied the needs of its army and it was a big mistake to believe Ukraine could reclaim any lost territory.
Trump’s position marks a major shift from his previous assertions that Ukraine would have to concede land. It has sparked debate over whether Kyiv has the military muscle and resources to achieve such a goal.
Colonel Philip Ingram, a former British Army officer and intelligence expert, told Daily Mail that although Ukraine faces ‘a mammoth task’ in trying to reclaim its occupied territory, there is still a path forward.
‘From a pure military perspective, it would be very difficult for the Ukrainians to use their military to push the Russians out,’ he said.
‘But from a wider operational perspective, where you bring in the geopolitical aspect of it, there is a realistic possibility, but it will take a long time.
‘It will rely on the Russian ability to continue to support its tactical operations, collapsing. The Ukrainians are having a lot of success in destroying Russia’s oil and gas industries, which is helping to fund its war.
‘The more the Ukrainians destroy, the less ability Russia has to manufacture the arms and ammunition they need to support the tactical fighting in the east. They could be put into a position where they are in danger of parts of their front collapsing.’
Russia and Ukraine are still locked in a brutal conflict more than three years after Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion.
Behind the headlines of daily battles lies a much bigger story, one of manpower, machines, and money.
Russia still occupies about 19 per cent of Ukraine, with about 3.5million Ukrainians living under occupation. Putin currently controls Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Donetsk. His forces seized and annexed Crimea in March 2014.
Russia has fortified much of the territory it holds with vast trench networks, anti-tank ditches, ‘dragon’s teeth’ barriers and minefields described by the UK Ministry of Defence as among the densest in the world.
