On the 21st, U.S. President Trump posted on social media, seemingly hinting at his willingness to let Kyiv launch more offensives, pressuring Russian President Putin to agree to a one-on-one meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky.
Trump wrote: “If you don't attack the invading country, winning a war will be extremely difficult, if not impossible.”
“It's like a great sports team that only plays defense but isn't allowed to go on the offense. Then there's simply no chance to win!”
Trump went on to criticize his predecessor Biden as “incompetent,” saying he “doesn't allow Ukraine to strike back, only to defend.”
During Biden's administration, to prevent the war from escalating, Ukraine was restricted from using U.S. weapons to attack Russia.
Trump then posted two more photos. One shows him pointing his finger at Putin’s chest, and another shows then–Vice President Nixon making a similar gesture toward Soviet leader Khrushchev.
Bloomberg noted that this move appears intended to project Trump’s toughness and counter criticism that he was too accommodating to Putin during last week's meeting in Alaska. At that summit, Trump rolled out the red carpet for Putin and later gave their encounter a “10 out of 10,” saying the two got along well.