As Russia’s war against Ukraine grinds on into its 44th month, President Donald Trump signaled a renewed resolve Tuesday for the embattled eastern European nation to win back the territory that it has lost to Vladimir Putin’s regime. Experts say Trump’s plan to help Ukraine win the war could succeed, including pushing Europe to step up NATO military funding, hardening tariffs on nations that buy Russian energy, and increasing U.S. military funding of NATO.

In a lengthy Truth Social post, Trump surmised 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. 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.”

The statement marks a notable reversal from the position Trump favored in August, when the president hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska in the hopes of securing a ceasefire agreement. But after subsequent weeks of escalating Russian drone and missile attacks against civilian targets in Ukraine and aggressive incursions into NATO airspace, Trump has soured on Putin. The president recently told reporters that he initially thought he would be able to easily negotiate a ceasefire with the Russian autocrat “because of my relationship with Putin. But unfortunately, that relationship didn’t mean anything.” He also stated that any future Russian planes that violate NATO airspace should be shot down.

In his speech before the United Nations Tuesday, Trump also called out European nations for continuing to buy Russian oil and gas. “[E]ven NATO countries have not cut off much Russian energy. … Think of it, they’re funding the war against themselves,” he bemoaned. The president went on to call Europe to join the U.S. in imposing tariffs on nations that buy Russian energy. So far, the U.S. has imposed tariffs on India for their Russian energy purchases.

Experts like Rear Admiral (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, say that Trump’s firm support of Ukraine is a welcome development.

“I think the president has landed in the exact right spot, which is to say that he gave Vladimir Putin a significant amount of time [and] numerous opportunities to join in a ceasefire with President Zelensky in Ukraine,” he contended during “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins” Wednesday. “… After every meeting, Putin would go back to Russia and would immediately engage in significant hypersonic missile strikes on civilian personnel in Ukraine as well as engaging in military kinetic actions along the front line, ignoring the president’s request … to come to the negotiating table. I think President Trump gave President Putin all the wiggle room he could, and then he had enough.”

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins agreed, noting that Christian pastors in Russian occupied parts of Ukraine “have been exiled, pushed out of their churches, turned into police stations or military stations by the Russians, and there are people scattered. There’s a type of cultural genocide going on when it comes to Christians in those occupied regions.”

Montgomery concurred, further noting a disturbing pattern of Russia abducting thousands of children from occupied Ukrainian territories.

“The abduction of 19,000 [to] 20,000 Ukrainian children, their illegal adoption or placing them in homes and then eventually in the military to fight against Ukrainians. I mean, this is completely unacceptable behavior,” he pointed out. “… [T]he destruction of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by the Russians — this is completely unacceptable behavior. It’s in fact why President Putin has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for these crimes against children and against humanity in Ukraine.”

Montgomery went on to observe that while some eastern European countries are doing their part to resist Russian aggression, the rest of Europe must follow suit.

“Poland and the Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia, [and] Lithuania have done their job,” he insisted. “They don’t take anything from Russia. They spend 4-5% of their GDP on defense, more than the president had asked for initially. … Unfortunately, they’re small in terms of economic productivity. We really need the western Europeans — Spain, Portugal, Germany, France, [and the] U.K. to do their fair share.”

In the end, Montgomery predicted, the heavy human and economic costs of the war could contribute to Russia’s defeat.

“[There is] a lot of pressure on Vladimir Putin,” he explained. “He’s lost 900,000 to one million people, including 250 to 300,000 dead. This is the lifeblood of a future Russia. … He’s got the pressure of mothers and grandmothers in Russia asking, ‘Why are we doing this?’ He’s going to have severe economic pressure soon that won’t be able to pay for the war machine. I think we’ve [got] six, eight, 10 months before Putin’s got to do something serious.”