ISTANBUL 

US President Donald Trump on Thursday criticized the previous Joe Biden administration for preventing Ukraine from attacking Russian territory, arguing that such restrictions put victory out of reach.

"It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invaders country," he said on his social media platform Truth Social, arguing that winning a war requires the ability to strike an "invaders country."

He added: "It is like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defense, but is not allowed to play offense. There is no chance of winning!"

Trump directly attacked Biden's approach to the conflict, claiming the previous administration only allowed Ukraine to defend rather than counterattack. "Crooked and grossly incompetent Joe Biden would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND. How did that work out?" he wrote.

Early in the Ukraine conflict, which began in February 2022, the Biden administration was wary of allowing weapons it gave to Ukraine to be used to attack Russia, fearing this could escalate the conflict or signal the US and Russia being at war. That policy changed last Nov. 17, about two months before Biden left office and Trump – newly elected – returned for a second term

Trump's remarks came after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Russia of targeting an American electronics manufacturer in western Ukraine. Sybiha said this was not Russia's first attack on American companies in Ukraine. Trump has long sought to portray American assets as a “security guarantee” for Ukraine.

During his first term in office, in 2017-2021, before Biden’s presidency, Trump was criticized for a phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president. In the July 2019 call, according to his critics, Trump held up a military aid package for Ukraine, saying that in return, he wanted Zelenskyy to announce an investigation into Biden, Trump’s political rival. Trump denied the allegations that he sought a quid pro quo.

That phone call was part of the November 2019 articles of impeachment against Trump, alleging that Trump solicited foreign interference in the upcoming 2020 presidential election. In February 2020, in a US Senate trial, Trump was acquitted of those articles of impeachment.

The phone call came before the current Russia-Ukraine war, but during a 2014-2022 conflict in Eastern Ukraine with separatists said to be backed by Russia, beginning when Russia took over Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.

- Trump compares himself to Nixon

Minutes after his criticism of Biden for not letting Ukraine attack Russia, Trump shared a split image drawing a parallel between his encounter with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the famous Cold War “Kitchen Debate” between then-US Vice President Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet premier.

The top half of the photo shows Trump pointing while speaking to Putin, while the bottom half features Nixon in a similar posture during his 1959 exchange with Khrushchev in Moscow.

Nixon was later elected to two terms as president, but resigned in 1974, fearing impeachment over the Watergate scandal. Nixon was pardoned later that year by his successor, President Gerald Ford, for any crimes he may have committed.

- Diplomatic efforts

Trump recently engaged diplomatically with both sides of the Russia-Ukraine war, including his Alaska summit last week with Russian President Vladmir Putin and this week’s White House meeting with Zelenskyy and European leaders.

Trump has announced plans for a Putin-Zelenskyy bilateral meeting, followed by trilateral talks involving himself to resolve the conflict.