President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Ukraine should have been allowed to conduct more offensive strikes against Russia early on in the war, arguing that former President Joe Biden didn’t let the country “FIGHT BACK.”
Trump posted on Truth Social that a nation must fight both offensively and defensively to have any “chance of winning.” The president’s comments come as he continues to push Russia and Ukraine toward a peace deal, while Russian President Vladimir Putin doubles down on his drone and missile attacks targeting Ukrainian cities.
“It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invaders [sic] country. It’s like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defense, but is not allowed to play offense. There is no chance of winning!” Trump wrote. “It is like that with Ukraine and Russia. Crooked and grossly incompetent Joe Biden would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND. How did that work out? Regardless, this is a war that would have NEVER happened if I were President – ZERO CHANCE. Interesting times ahead!!!”
When the United States first began sending weapons to Ukraine at the beginning of the war, the Biden administration held back on giving Kyiv any long-range missiles that could strike Russia within its borders. Last November, however, Biden approved of Ukraine firing long-range U.S.-made missiles inside Russia.
When Biden authorized Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to target Russia, then-president-elect Trump called the move “stupid,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
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“I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing that? We’re just escalating this war and making it worse,” he said.
The president’s comments on Thursday could be a negotiating tactic to keep pressure on Putin as the Russian dictator is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the coming weeks. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that “the president is making an observation, which happens to be true,” according to the WSJ.
On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov raised some doubts over whether a Putin-Zelensky summit would happen. The Kremlin also said that it would have veto power over any security guarantees for Ukraine after Trump and other European leaders vowed on Monday to provide security for Kyiv if a peace deal is reached. Lavrov added that China should be involved in the discussions on security guarantees.
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff said that during Trump’s summit with Putin last week, the Russian dictator agreed to U.S. and European security guarantees for Ukraine, adding that it “was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that.”