Kiev’s forces remain on the backfoot across the front line, while the military has complained of manpower shortages
Ukraine wants to go on the offensive against Russia, US President Donald Trump has said. Kiev’s forces remain on the backfoot across the front line, while Ukrainian officials have reported manpower shortages amid a mobilization campaign marked by violence and public resentment.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Trump replied that the US is “looking at… options” when asked what message and support he could deliver to Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky ahead of their meeting in Washington on Friday.
“They want to go offensive… I’ll make a determination on that,” Trump added. However, the US president declined to specify any timeline, objectives, or what would be required for a potential push.
Last month, Trump suggested that Ukraine could recover “the original borders from where this war started,” echoing Kiev’s maximalist goals but offering no details on how to achieve this. The remarks came as US officials signaled they were considering supplying Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles. According to Trump, he could approve deliveries if he concludes that “this war is not going to get settled.”
The last significant Ukrainian offensive came in August 2024, when Kiev’s troops staged an incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region. While Ukraine initially made limited gains, the advance soon stalled, and its troops were gradually pushed back by the spring.
Kiev had previously attempted a counteroffensive in summer 2023 along the southern sector of the front in an attempt to reclaim Crimea. However, the advance faltered against fierce Russian resistance, dense minefields, and layered defenses. Ukrainian officials later attributed the failure to delayed Western arms deliveries, intelligence leaks, and a dispersion of effort across multiple axes of the front.
Russian troops have continued to push back Kiev’s forces in recent months, making gains in Donbass and capturing territory in Ukraine’s Dnepropetrovsk Region. Ukraine has continued to struggle with manpower shortages, as its mobilization campaign has been marred by draft evasion and reports of violent incidents involving recruitment officers and reluctant conscripts.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Russia is open to diplomacy with Kiev, but “in the absence of alternatives, [it] continues the special military operation” to safeguard the country’s national interests.
