Published: 10:30am, 22 Aug 2025Updated: 10:31am, 22 Aug 2025
US President Donald Trump insinuated in a social media post that he is open to Ukraine launching more attacks on Russia, as the White House looks to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a one-on-one meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Advertisement
“It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invaders country,” Trump wrote. “It’s like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defence, but is not allowed to play offence. There is no chance of winning!”
Trump went on to call former president Joe Biden “incompetent” because he “would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND defend.” Biden limited the use of US weapons in offensive operations against Russia in a bid to keep the war from escalating.
In a subsequent post, Trump posted two photographs – one that showed him pointing his finger at Putin’s chest, and a picture of then-vice-president Richard Nixon making a similar gesture at Soviet Union premier Nikita Khrushchev.
The post and images appeared aimed at projecting Trump’s toughness and countering criticism that he was too accommodating to the Russian leader during their meeting in Alaska last week. At that summit, Trump rolled out a red carpet for Putin and later described the meeting as a “10”, saying they got along well.
Trump, Putin leave Ukraine war summit with no deal
Trump, Putin leave Ukraine war summit with no deal
The tone also goes against the beliefs of some of Trump’s most ardent supporters on the Maga wing of the Republican Party. They have argued that the US should not get more involved in the Ukraine conflict and should stop supporting Ukraine. Trump has largely ended US help, instead offering to sell weapons to Europe that would then be sent to Zelensky’s forces.