President Trump asked Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky if Kyiv could strike Moscow if the U.S. provided long-range weapons, according to the Financial Times.
Trump privately pushed for Ukraine to ramp up its attacks deep inside Russia on a July 4 call with Zelensky—the day after Trump had what he described as a “bad” conversation with Putin, sources told the FT.
“Putin really surprised a lot of people. He talks nice and then he bombs everybody in the evening… I don’t like it,” Trump said Sunday, in one of many missives directed at the Kremlin chief of late.
The final straw reportedly came after an unproductive phone call with the tough-guy leader at the beginning of July. “I didn’t make any progress with him at all,” Trump admitted to reporters after the July 3 conversation. Within hours, Putin had launched another massive bombardment of Ukraine.
A day later, Trump spoke to Zelensky. The U.S. president, who used to brag about ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict within 24 hours of re-taking office, encouraged Zelensky to hit the heart of Russia with strikes on Moscow and Putin’s hometown of St. Petersburg, according to the FT.
During the call, Trump asked the Ukrainian president if he could perform the feat if the U.S. sent him long-range weapons, according to the paper’s sources.
“Volodymyr, can you hit Moscow? . . . Can you hit St Petersburg too?” Trump said, according to the people.
Zelensky was not shy in his response. “Absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons,” he reportedly responded.
The people briefed on the call with Zelensky said that Trump spoke about “making them [Russians] feel the pain.”
The White House, representatives for the Ukrainian president, and the Kremlin have yet to respond to a request for comment.
After a sit-down with Pope Leo in Rome last week, Zelensky met with U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg. The FT reported that during a meeting with U.S. defence officials and intermediaries from NATO governments, a list of potential weapons was floated to Zelensky.
The long-range strike systems could be made available to Ukraine via third-party transfers, according to the report. It comes as Trump has committed to sending Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine. He said that NATO countries will foot the bill before transferring the equipment to Ukraine.
The Ukrainians had asked for Tomahawk missiles, long-range cruise missiles that have a range of around 1,000 miles, according to the FT. The report claimed that U.S. officials are wary of sending Tomahawks to Ukraine because they fear a lack of restraint on the part of Kyiv.
During his Monday meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, Trump confirmed he would send defense systems to Ukraine via intermediaries. There was no talk of Tomahawks or other offensive weapons.
Reacting to the news on X, former Russian president and current Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, said: “Trump issued a theatrical ultimatum to the Kremlin … Russia didn’t care.”
The post Trump Secretly Asked Zelensky if He Can Attack Moscow After His ‘Bad’ Call With Putin appeared first on The Daily Beast.
