President Donald J. Trump reportedly said Thursday that Ukraine would have to continue striking Russian territory if it hoped to prevail in the conflict that has now stretched on for years, sharpening his critique of the Biden administration’s management of the war.
“It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invader’s country,” Mr. 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! It is like that with Ukraine and Russia.”
The statement followed two summits he hosted this week aimed at ending the war, and it underscored his belief that President Biden’s strategy had handicapped Ukraine by limiting how it could fight back.
“Joe Biden would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND,” Mr. Trump said, directly blaming his predecessor both for Russia’s initial invasion and for the restrictions Washington imposed on Kyiv’s use of American weapons.
While the former Biden administration eventually authorized Ukraine to launch U.S.-supplied missiles into Russian territory, it did so only after months of hesitation and piecemeal transfers of longer-range weapons.
White House officials had expressed concern that enabling Ukraine to strike deep into Russia might escalate the conflict.
Mr. Trump, by contrast, has suggested that Ukraine cannot hope to win without offensive action. To drive home the point, he posted images of himself pointing at Russian President Vladimir V. Putin alongside a historic photograph of President Richard Nixon poking his finger into Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s chest — imagery that seemed designed to evoke a firm American stance against Moscow.
The president’s team has brushed aside questions about the meaning of the posts. “The president is making an observation, which happens to be true,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Mr. Trump has at times criticized both Mr. Biden’s reluctance to give Ukraine offensive capabilities and the subsequent decision to greenlight strikes inside Russia. As president-elect, he called it “stupid” for Mr. Biden to authorize such attacks without first consulting him. “I think it was a big mistake,” he said.
In a December interview with Time magazine, he went further: “I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing that? We’re just escalating this war and making it worse.”
Speculation has persisted over whether a future Trump administration might lift restrictions or provide Ukraine with new weapons, but a senior U.S. defense official said there had been no discussion of giving Kyiv Tomahawk missiles, which Ukrainian officials have long requested.
Mr. Trump has also moved to pressure Moscow economically, threatening before the Alaska summit to impose fresh sanctions on Russia and its trading partners.
Higher U.S. tariffs on India, one of Russia’s biggest oil customers, are scheduled to take effect next week.
After meeting with Mr. Putin last week, Mr. Trump announced that the Russian leader had committed to a one-on-one meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for peace talks. But in recent days, senior Russian officials have backpedaled, saying preliminary discussions were still needed.
Meanwhile, Russia has continued launching strikes. On Monday, as Mr. Zelensky met Mr. Trump in Washington, Russian forces fired on Ukraine. On Thursday, a Russian missile struck an American electronics factory in the country’s west, underscoring the high stakes of the conflict and the urgency of a resolution.
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