KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainians were cautious Wednesday in their response to a surprise pivot in U.S. President Donald Trump’s views on their prospects for defeating Russia’s invasion, after he said they could win the three-year war and retake land captured by Moscow.

Russian officials, meanwhile, said developments on the battlefield showed Ukraine is unable to reclaim the occupied territory and dismissed Trump's description of Russia as a “paper tiger.”

“Russia isn’t a tiger, it’s more associated with a bear,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “There are no paper bears. Russia is a real bear.”

Some Ukrainians expressed hope that Trump’s words would be backed up by concrete support for Ukraine in Washington, while others were wary about the American president’s unpredictability.

“We nee

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