London: Donald Trump added a revealing flourish to his sudden reversal on Ukraine in his remarks at the United Nations this week, when he heaped scorn on Russia as a weak power – a “paper tiger” – that could lose the war.

“Good luck to all!” the US president wrote at the end of a social media post that seemed like a total backflip on everything he has said for months about Ukraine losing ground.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump spoke at the United Nations this week.Credit: AP

This came after a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky where Trump said NATO forces should shoot down Russian jets that violated allied airspace – another apparent sign he is toughening his stance against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Moscow, meanwhile, dismissed Trump’s description of Russia as a paper tiger that had been “fighting aimlessly”. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Russia isn’t a tiger, it’s more associated with a bear. There are no paper bears. Russia is a real bear.”

Anyone following Trump will know that you get whiplash just keeping up with his twists and turns. It can be like watching the players and the ball on a squash court: left, right, up, down, forward, back. It is hard to remember where the ball was two or three moves ago.

That’s why the final flourish is one to remember. Good luck to all? Trump seems to be losing interest in the game. He has opinions about who might win, but does not feel invested in the outcome.

Yes, the president’s casual remarks and social media posts make instant news. But the way to keep the score with Trump is to track the facts.

First, he exaggerates Ukraine’s........

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