Donald Trump has not been the biggest supporter of Ukraine in the war against Russia. Despite Russia being the invader, Trump has not shown support for Ukraine during his presidential campaign, and the same went for his first months in office.
However, there has been a significant shift as Trump promised Monday to send more weapons to the war-torn country. Now, a new report from the Financial Times claims Trump even asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy if he could hit Moscow.
The relationship between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been shaky for years. During Donaldโs presidential campaign last year, he repeatedly criticized the US for sending both money and weapons to Ukraine and stated time and time again that it was โAmerica First.โ
Moreover, the now-president claimed that Ukraine was the one starting the war with Russia and not the other way around, and the infamous meeting at the White House in February seemed to be the end of he discussion of how Trump wouldnโt help Ukraine with military aid going forward.
However, that has now changed. In the last week, Donald Trump has toughened up his tone towards Russia and Vladimir Putin. Just days ago, he put pressure on the Russian president to end the invasion of Ukraine.
Donald Trump threatens Russia with 100% tariffs
On Monday, Trump threatened to impose โsecondary tariffsโ on Russiaโs trade partners at about 100% if Putin rejects a deal to stop the invasion in 50 days.
โWeโre very, very unhappy with them, and weโre going to be doing very severe tariffs, if you donโt have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100%, they call them secondary tariffs,โ Trump said, per CNBC.
He added that he is โdisappointedโ with how Putin hasnโt wanted to sign a deal, which, according to the president, should have been done months ago. If there isnโt a ceasefire deal by September, Trump said, โweโre going to be doing secondary tariffs.โ
If that wasnโt enough, Donald Trump also announced that the US would send โbillions of dollars worth of military equipmentโ purchased from American companies, which was paid for by European countries and delivered to NATO allies, to be then sent to Ukraine.
Now, a new claim about Trumpโs real feelings towards Russia has been reported on, and it sure doesnโt seem that he wants anything to do with Vladimir Putin. As reported by the Financial Times, Trump has in private encouraged Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to โstep upโ drone strikes on Russian territory.
Donald Trumpย askedย Volodymyr Zelenskyย if he could strike Moscow, sources claim
The news outlet reports that Trump even asked Zelenskyy if he could strike Moscow and St Petersburg if the US would supply them with long-range weapons. The Washington Post has also reported the claim, as both outlets cite anonymous sources familiar with the call between Trump and Zelenskyy, which allegedly took place on July 4.
Although it is not clear whether the US will send the necessary weapons, it surely shows how Trump has had enough of President Vladimir Putinโs willingness to negotiate peace talks.
The Financial Times reported that Trump told Zelenksyy he had spoken to Putin the day before and described the conversation โas bad.โ
Two unnamed sources familiar with the Trump-Zelenskyy asked, โVolodymyr, can you hit Moscow?โ.โ.โ.โCan you hit St Petersburg too?โ describing that the strategy intends to โmake them [Russians] feel the painโ and force Russia to the negotiating table.
They said Zelenskyy replied: โAbsolutely. We can if you give us the weapons.โ
On July 15, Trump claimed the report was false and thatย he doesnโt want Ukraine to target Moscow with long-range missiles:
โNo, he should not target Moscow,โ Trump said.
What do you think of Donald Trumpโs stance on the Ukraine-Russia war? Please share your thoughts in the comment section on Facebook!
