President Trump on Thursday promised “interesting times ahead” as he raised the prospect of Ukraine launching an offensive against Russia, amid signs that the Kremlin could be slow-walking progress on a peace deal.
In a post on Truth Social, the president seemed to justify a hypothetical offensive against Russia and criticized the Biden administration’s longstanding policy against Ukraine using U.S. long-range missiles to attack inside Russia.
“It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invaders 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! It is like that with Ukraine and Russia,” Trump wrote in his post.
“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,” he continued. “Interesting times ahead!!!”
Two weeks after Trump’s 2024 victory, former President Biden authorized a major shift in U.S. policy to allow Ukraine to use long-range U.S. missiles to attack sites in Russia.
Trump, at the time, sharply criticized the decision, calling it “stupid” and saying he “might” consider reversing the decision, adding, “I think it was a very stupid thing to do.”
“I don’t think that should have been allowed, not when there’s a possibility — certainly not just weeks before I take over,” Trump said at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida last December. “Why would they do that without asking me what I thought? I wouldn’t have had him do that. I think it was a big mistake.”
Lawmakers in both parties generally offered support for the shift, with some Republicans saying the move was welcome but came too late. Other Republicans, including many of Trump’s supporters, echoed the president’s sentiment and called the move escalatory.
Trump’s latest public musing about a hypothetical Ukrainian offensive comes as Russian officials have expressed some doubt about early prospects of a peace deal, including on potential security guarantees for Kyiv and a bilateral meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
