UPDATE - Trump says Ukraine 'doing a very good job' on battlefield against Russia

ADDS REMARKS FROM UKRAINIAN, US PRESIDENTS

By Michael Hernandez and Burc Eruygur

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Donald Trump gave an unusually upbeat assessment of Ukraine's battlefield performance Tuesday, saying Kyiv's forces have far surpassed expectations, as he met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"Ukraine is doing a very good job of stopping this very large army. It's pretty amazing. You know, this is a war that should have ended in three days, four days," Trump said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, reflecting conventional wisdom from the start of the war in February 2022.

"People said it was going to be very quick, and you got to hand it to the Ukrainian soldiers, and everybody involved, it's still going on. And that's not a good thing for Russia. This was supposed to be quick. And so, Russia doesn't look very distinguished, having taken three-and-a-half years of very hard fighting, and it looks like it's not going to end for a long time," he added.

Asked about recent unidentified drone sightings that caused two temporary airport closures in Denmark, Trump said he would have no response "until I find out exactly what happened."

"They don't know what happened, but we're going to find out very soon," he said, expressing approval of NATO countries shooting down Russian aircraft if they violate their airspace in response to a corresponding question.

The drone sightings followed recent airspace violations in Europe.

On Sept. 10, a suspected Russian drone strike hit Polish territory, prompting NATO to deploy fighter jets. Similar accusations were subsequently made by Romania and Estonia, and denied by Russia.

Responding to a question on Budapest's continued purchase of Russian oil, Trump denied speaking to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban about the issue.

"I have not spoken to him, but I have a feeling if I did, he might stop, and I think I'll be doing that," he added.

Zelenskyy thanked Trump for his personal effort to try and end the war, saying he would brief Trump on the situation on the battlefield.

"We have good news," Zelenskyy said, claiming that Ukrainian troops retook 360 square kilometers (139 square miles) in the country this month, as well as encircled 1,000 Russian soldiers, and they want to do an exchange.

He reaffirmed Ukraine's demand for further pressure and sanctions on Moscow, and expressed support for Trump's remarks that some European countries need to cease buying Russian oil.

Earlier this month, Trump declared that he is prepared to impose major sanctions on Russia if all NATO members agree to stop buying Russian oil and take similar steps.