At a press conference on 15 October at the White House, US President Donald Trump claimed that Ukraine wants to go on the offensive in its war against Russia and said he will decide whether to approve such a move. Kyiv has not announced any new major offensive over the past years.
Trump: Ukraine wants to go offensive — but I’ll make the determination
Speaking to reporters, Trump confirmed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected in Washington this week.
“President Zelenskyy is coming in. I'm not a fan of the war. I'm not a fan of the way it started. It should have never happened. It wouldn't have started if I were president,” he said, once again alluding to his prior claim that President Joe Biden could have prevented Russia’s invasion.
Zelenskyy said earlier that he plans to meet with Donald Trump in Washington on 17 October to discuss Ukraine’s air defense and long-range strike capabilities.
Trump then said Ukraine intends to take offensive action.
“They want to go offensive,” he stated. “I'll make a determination on that. But they would like to go offensive. You know that. And we'll have to make a determination.”
He positioned himself as the one who would approve or block such a move, without providing further detail.
“Not American lives, but if I can save a lot of lives, that's why I'm in it. I want to save lives,” Trump said. “We'll be talking about the war with him.”
The US President also commented on the prospects of negotiations, saying he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin may be now willing to end the war.
“I think Putin, President Putin, I think, is going to — I think he wants to get it done. We'll see.” Trump said. But he emphasized what he believes is one key obstacle: “There's a great animosity between him and Zelenskyy. [...] The hatred of the two leaders [...] it's an obstacle. [...] I thought we had a deal two months ago.”
Trump says India won't buy Russian oil anymore, making peace more achievable
Trump mentioned Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the context of Russia's oil revenues, sustaining the war. He claimed Modi promised him that India would soon stop buying oil from Russia — a move Trump argued would "make it much easier."
“He assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia,” Trump said, though there has been no confirmation of such a pledge from India. “Within a short period of time, they will not be buying oil from Russia.”
