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,” Trump criticised Joe Biden for not allowing Ukraine to “fight back” against Russia, calling the former President “grossly incompetent” and reiterating that the war would never have happened if he were in office. In a post on Truth Social, 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 statement came after Russia launched its largest drone and missile attack on Ukraine in more than a month, killing nine civilians, according to Ukrainian officials. The strikes followed a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump in Alaska, which failed to establish ground for a ceasefire as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy demanded security guarantees before any agreement. Trump has suggested a trilateral meeting involving him, Putin and Zelenskyy in the near future, adding that the US would provide some form of security guarantees for Ukraine, though he did not clarify whether this would involve American troops. US White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt ruled out the possibility of sending US troops to Ukraine, stressing that while “boots on the ground” are off the table, other forms of support remain possible. “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,” she said, adding that air support was a potential option. She further said President Trump has directed his national security team to come up with a framework for security guarantees that would be acceptable to Ukraine and its allies, aimed at ensuring lasting peace and ending the war.
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