Trump Says Ukraine Cannot Win War Without Striking Russia

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump wrote on Aug. 21 on Truth Social that Ukraine cannot win its war without launching attacks on Russia, criticizing prior U.S. policy that only allowed Kyiv to defend itself, not attack.

“It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invader’s country,” Trump wrote on Aug 21.

“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! It is like that with Ukraine and Russia.”

Trump signaled openness to Ukraine’s launching more attacks on Russia and criticized the previous administration for limiting Kyiv.

He said, former President 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!!!” he said.

Trump’s comments came after peace talks in Alaska last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin, followed by meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House on Aug. 18.

In a subsequent post on Aug. 21, Trump posted two photos—one that showed him pointing his finger at Putin’s chest during their private conversation at a military base in Alaska last week, and another from 1959 of then-Vice President Richard Nixon making a similar gesture at then-Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev.

Trump had previously criticized the Biden administration for permitting Ukraine to use U.S.-made long-range missiles against targets inside Russia, arguing that it would escalate the conflict.

“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,” Trump said in an interview with Time magazine published in December 2024, nearly a month after winning the presidential election.

“That should not have been allowed to be done. Now they’re doing not only missiles, but they’re doing other types of weapons. And I think that’s a very big mistake, very big mistake.”

Trump this week told European leaders that a breakthrough occurred at the Alaska summit when Putin agreed to accept security guarantees for Ukraine.

He said that European countries would provide security guarantees to Ukraine in coordination with the United States, and suggested that Europeans agreed to provide troops on the ground to prevent future aggressions.

Trump also began the arrangements for a bilateral meeting, at a location to be determined, between Putin and Zelenskyy. After that meeting, the three presidents will hold a trilateral session, Trump said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, however, said on Aug. 20 that European proposals to deploy troops in Ukraine after the war would mean “foreign intervention,” which he said was unacceptable to Moscow.

Speaking during a press conference, Lavrov said Moscow won’t agree with collective security guarantees negotiated without the Russian Federation.

“It is a road to nowhere,” he said.