In a July 4 call, President Donald Trump asked Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky if Kiev could strike Moscow and St.Petersburg. When President Joe Biden allowed Ukraine to strike talks inside Russia last year, Trump slammed the move.
The Financial Times reported speaking with people familiar with the conversation who explained that Trump asked Zelensky whether he could strike Moscow if the US provided long-range weapons.
“Volodymyr, can you hit Moscow? . . . Can you hit St Petersburg too?” Trump asked. Zelenskyy replied: “Absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons.”
Last year, President Biden gave Ukraine permission to target the inside of Russia with long-range US weapons. At the time, President-elect Trump said, “I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing that? We’re just escalating this war and making it worse. That should not have been allowed to be done.”
Authorizing strikes on Moscow or St.Petersburg would require Trump to authorize Zelensky to strike deeper into Russia than Biden allowed.
The sources speaking with FT also said Trump encouraged Zelensky to conduct deeper strikes against Russia. The US President told the Ukrainian leader the goal was to make Russia “feel the pain.”
Trump has expressed increasing frustration that Russian President Vladimir Putin is unwilling to end the war in Ukraine. During his campaign, Trump was critical of Biden for spending over $100 billion in military aid to Kiev, and pledged to bring the war to a close on his first day in office.
Zelensky has provided the US with a list of long-range weapons Ukraine would like to acquire. On Monday, Trump announced that NATO countries would buy $10 billion worth of weapons and transfer them to Ukraine. The plan bypasses the need for Trump to get approval from Congress.
Since taking office, Trump has continued to send weapons to Ukraine that were approved under Biden. However, last week the President said he would “send some more weapons” to Ukraine. The United States is sending a limited number of Patriot missiles to Ukraine. The White House has ruled out sending the Tomahawk long-range cruise missile to Kiev.
UPDATE: Trump denied the FT report on Tuesday, telling reporters, “No, he shouldn’t target Moscow.”
