Could Ukraine hit Moscow? Report claims Trump asked Zelensky about long-range strikes
Trump urged Ukraine to carry out deeper strikes into Russian territory and asked President Zelensky if US long-range weapons could be used to target Moscow
US President Donald Trump has privately encouraged Ukraine to step up strikes deep in Russian territory, even asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky whether he could hit Moscow if the US provided long-range weapons, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
Details of the alleged conversation emerged a day after Trump pledged fresh weapons supplies to Kyiv that would be paid for by European allies. He also threatened to impose stiff economic penalties on Russia if it doesn’t end the war on Ukraine within 50 days.
Zelensky said he and Trump agreed during their call to cooperate on air defences after Russia had unleashed one of the largest air attacks of the war on the Ukrainian capital. The US president quizzed him on whether Ukraine could hit Moscow and St. Petersburg, according to the Financial Times. “Absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons,” the newspaper reported Zelensky as saying.
The conversation followed Trump’s call with Russian President Vladimir Putin a day earlier, after which the US leader said he was “very disappointed” by the discussion.
The US shared with Zelensky a list of potential weapons that it could make available to Ukraine during a meeting in Rome last week, according to the Financial Times. The list included long-range strike systems, such as US-made ATACMS missiles, it said.
Trump’s move to raise pressure on Putin came after months of unsuccessful diplomacy aimed at persuading Russia to halt its war on Ukraine and negotiate a peace deal. Russia has intensified its drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks.