Donald Trump has explained it would be ‘very hard, if not impossible’ for Ukraine to prevail without attacking Russia.

The US President shared his thoughts on the continuing conflict on his Truth Social account on Thursday, saying he did not agree with his predecessor, Joe Biden, to refuse Kyiv the right to ‘fight back’ against Putin’s forces.

Using a sports analogy, the leader posted: ‘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.

‘Crooked and grossly incompetent Joe Biden would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND. How did that work out?’

He proceeded to share a picture of himself poking Vladimir Putin in the chest, in a playful echo of former president Richard Nixon doing the same to Nikita Khrushchev, former prime minister of the Soviet Union, during a tense debate in 1959.

Trump shared his thoughts on the conflict as Ukraine launched drone attacks on oil refineries in Russia, including its latest assault in Rostov Oblast overnight.

Ukraine has previously succeeded in entering Russian territory, including an incursion into the Kursk region in 2024.

More recently, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces launched Operation Spiderweb in June.