On the 15th local time, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should not target Moscow as an attack target.
Previously, according to a report by The Financial Times on the 15th, during a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, U.S. President Donald Trump had encouraged Ukraine to intensify its strikes against Russian territory and even asked Zelensky if Ukraine could strike Moscow, Russia’s capital, if the United States provided long-range weapons.
The report, citing two sources familiar with the conversation, revealed the content of the call between Trump and Zelensky on the 4th. During the call, Trump asked, “Vladimir (Zelensky), can you hit Moscow?… Can you hit Saint Petersburg?” Zelensky replied, “Of course we can. As long as we get the weapons.”
The two sources believe that Trump’s intention was to “make them (the Russians) suffer,” forcing Russia to return to the negotiating table.
On the 14th, Trump said that if Russia does not reach a peace agreement with Ukraine within 50 days, the United States will impose “very strict” tariffs on Russia. Trump also mentioned that the United States would provide military assistance to Ukraine through NATO, including some equipment such as the Patriot air defense system, which is expected to arrive in Ukraine within “a few days.” (Xu Dezhi)
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has attracted multilateral competition.