Trump suggests Ukraine 'play offense' as he pressures Putin

Kate Sullivan, Bloomberg News on Aug 21, 2025

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President Donald Trump insinuated in a social media post that he’s 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 Zelenskyy.

“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 defense, but is not allowed to play offense. 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 U.S. 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.

The tone also goes against the beliefs of some of Trump’s most ardent supporters on the MAGA wing of the Republican party. They’ve argued that the U.S. shouldn’t get more involved in the Ukraine conflict and should stop supporting Ukraine. Trump has largely ended U.S. assistance, instead offering to sell weapons to Europe that would then be sent to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s forces.

Trump met Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House on Monday. After that meeting, he directed administration officials to work with Ukraine and Russia to set up a meeting between the two leaders, followed by a summit that he would join.

The Kremlin so far has proved noncommittal and no date or location for the summit has been set.

Trump also asked U.S. and European officials to work together on a package of security guarantees to entice Kyiv to agree to a deal that he has said would involve territorial exchanges.