Ukraine must ‘fight back’ against Russia to win the war, says US President Donald Trump

Russia has launched a rare drone and missile attack on western Ukraine striking targets including an American-owned electronics plant and injecting further uncertainty into the US-led efforts to end the three-year-old war.

The aerial assault on a part of Ukraine that has largely avoided such focused attacks was one of Russia’s biggest this year and came amid Moscow’s objections to key aspects of proposals that could end the fighting following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of its neighbour.

US President Donald Trump discussed the war with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week before hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders at the White House on Monday.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said the strikes targeted “enterprises of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex,” including drone factories, storage depots, missile launch sites and areas where Ukrainian troops were gathered.

Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilian areas of Ukraine.

But in a post on X, Mr Zelensky wrote that “the Russians practically burned down an American company producing electronics — home appliances, nothing military”.

“The Russians knew exactly where they lobbed the missiles. We believe this was a deliberate attack against American property and investments in Ukraine,” Mr Zelensky wrote.

“Telling attack, right as the world awaits a clear answer from Russia on negotiations to end the war.”

Mr Trump last month questioned Mr Putin’s commitment to ending the war, saying the Russian leader “talks nice and then he bombs everybody”.

In a social media post on Thursday, Mr Trump criticised his predecessor, Joe Biden, for not providing Ukraine with more weaponry it needs to “fight back”.

“It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invaders country,” Mr Trump said.

“It’s like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defence, but is not allowed to play offensive. There is no chance of winning! It is like that with Ukraine and Russia.”

Russia has fired nearly 1000 long-range drones and missiles at Ukraine since Monday’s White House talks, according to Ukrainian tallies.

European countries are discussing how they can deploy military assets to deter any postwar Russian assault on Ukraine.

But the Kremlin won’t accept the deployment of any troops from NATO countries, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday that making security arrangements for Ukraine without Moscow’s involvement was pointless.

Mr Putin is ready to meet with Mr Zelensky to discuss peace terms, Mr Lavrov said on Thursday, but only after key issues have been worked out by senior officials in what could be a protracted negotiating process.

Ukrainian and European leaders have accused Mr Putin of stalling in the peace efforts in the hopes that his bigger army, which has been making slow advances, can capture more Ukrainian land.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio planned to host a conference call on Thursday with the national security advisers of European countries expected to play a role in future security guarantees for Ukraine, a senior US official said.

It wasn’t immediately clear which countries would be on the call. The US official spoke on condition of anonymity to outline a discussion that had not been publicly announced.

Military leaders from Ukraine, the US, the UK, Finland, France, Germany and Italy met on Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington to work out military options, said Joseph Holstead, a spokesperson for the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.

But an official who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “Everything is being considered and nothing is being ruled out,” regarding security guarantees for Ukraine, apart from US boots on the ground.