‘Very hard to win war without attacking’: Trump hints at letting Ukraine ‘fight back’ amid peace talks

WASHINGTON DC: US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) hinted at allowing Ukraine to “fight back” against Russia, marking a departure from his earlier peace stance, as he said, “It is very impossible, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invading country.”

Promising “interesting times ahead,” Donald Trump criticised Joe Biden for not allowing Ukraine to “fight back” against Russia, calling the former US President “grossly incompetent” for his action, reiterating that the war would never have happened if he (Trump) was the President.

In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump said, “It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invader’s country. 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! 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!!!”

This comes after Russia launched its largest drone and missile attack on Ukraine in more than a month, just days after a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump in Alaska. Nine civilians were killed in the strikes as well as in shelling in eastern Ukraine, CNN reported, citing Ukrainian officials.

The meeting in Alaska failed to establish any solid ground for the ceasefire as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remained insistent on having security guarantees before agreeing to a ceasefire. However, Trump has suggested a trilateral meeting involving him, Putin and Zelenskyy in the near future.

Trump has also promised that the US would be involved in providing security guarantees for Ukraine. The US leader said that there would be some form of security guarantees for Ukraine, but did not reveal whether this would involve US troops.

However, US White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of US sending troops to Ukraine as part of security guarantees.

“The president has definitively stated US boots will not be on the ground in Ukraine, but we can certainly help in the coordination and perhaps provide other means of security guarantees to our European allies. The president understands that security guarantees are crucial to ensuring a lasting peace. He has directed his national security team to coordinate with our friends in Europe and also to continue to cooperate and discuss these matters with Ukraine and Russia as well,” she said.

Upon being asked if the US would provide ‘air’ as a security option, Leavitt said that it was a possibility.

“It is an option and a possibility. I certainly won’t rule out any military options that the president has at his disposal. I’ll let him do that. I can tell you he’s ruled out boots on the ground,” she said.

Upon being pressed for further details on the security guarantees for Ukraine, she said, “President Trump has directed his team to come up with a framework for these security guarantees that can be acceptable to help ensure a lasting peace and end this war,” she said. (ANI)