During a joint briefing with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on October 20, Trump stated that he does not consider a Ukrainian victory in the war with Russia likely, although theoretically it is possible. "They can win, but I don't think it will happen. I never claimed that they would win — I said it is possible," Trump’s words were reported by CNN.
On October 19, Trump also spoke about the need to divide Donbas to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, noting that a large part of the region is already controlled by Russia. "Let everything stay in its place. It is already divided, 78% of the territory is now under Russian control," the president added, expressing hope that both sides could reach an agreement in the future.
On the same day, Trump also denied information from a Financial Times article, which claimed that he urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to hand over all of Donbas to Russia, covering parts of three regions of Ukraine — Donetsk, Luhansk, and Dnipropetrovsk.
