President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post on 21 August that Ukraine is unlikely to win its war unless it mounts attacks inside Russia, arguing that “it is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invader’s country.” Trump blamed former president Joe Biden for restricting Kyiv to defensive operations, contending the limitation left Ukraine “with no chance of winning.” The remark marks Trump’s clearest public signal that he may tolerate—or even endorse—Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory if diplomatic efforts fail. The White House has been pressing for a one-on-one meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but the Kremlin has yet to commit. Trump said he expects to know within two weeks whether peace talks can succeed and hinted at a tougher approach if they do not. Trump’s comments came hours after Russia launched one of its largest air assaults of the year, firing more than 500 drones and dozens of missiles across Ukraine and destroying an American-owned electronics plant near the Hungarian border. Kyiv said at least one civilian was killed and 15 injured in the overnight attack. European leaders, who met with Trump and Zelenskyy earlier in the week, have been preparing additional arms packages for Ukraine on the assumption that Washington will approve sales so long as Europe finances them. Any U.S. policy shift toward allowing longer-range strikes would represent a significant departure from the Biden-era rules that prohibited the use of American weapons inside Russia.