Donald Trump has privately encouraged Ukraine to step up deep strikes on Russian territory, even asking Volodymyr Zelenskyy whether he could strike Moscow if the US provided long-range weapons, according to people briefed on the discussions.
and his campaign promise to end US involvement in foreign conflicts.
The conversation with Zelenskyy on July 4 was precipitated by Trump’s call with Putin a day earlier, which the US president described as “bad”.
Two people familiar with the conversation between Trump and Zelenskyy said the US president had asked his Ukrainian counterpart whether he could hit military targets deep inside Russia if he provided weapons capable of doing so.
“
Volodymyr, can you hit Moscow? . . . Can you hit St Petersburg too?” Trump asked on the call, according to the people.
They said Zelenskyy replied: “
Absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons.”
Trump signalled his backing for the idea, describing the strategy as intended to “make them [Russians] feel the pain” and force the Kremlin to the negotiating table, said the two people briefed on the call.
A western official, who had been informed of the call, said the conversation reflected a growing desire among Ukraine’s western partners to supply long-range weapons capable of “bringing the war to Muscovites” — a sentiment echoed privately by American officials in recent weeks.