Donald Trump in particular encouraged Ukraine to intensify deep strikes on Russian soil, and he even asked Volodimir Zelinski if he could hit Moscow if the United States provides long -term weapons, according to the people who were informed of the discussions.
The conversation, which was held during the July 4 call between the United States and Ukrainian leaders, is a sharp departure from Trump’s previous position in Russia. war He promised him his campaign to end our involvement in foreign conflicts.
Although it is still unclear whether Washington will provide such weapons, the discussion confirms Trump’s frustration with the rejection of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to engage in the ceasefire talks proposed by the American President, who once pledged to resolve the war in one day.
The conversation was deposited with Zelenskyy on July 4 by inviting Trump with Putin one day ago, which the American president described as “bad”.
Two people familiar with the conversation between Trump and Zelinski said that the US president asked his Ukrainian counterpart whether he could hit military targets deeply inside Russia if he presented weapons capable of doing so.
“Volodymyr, can you hit Moscow? … Can you hit Pitsburg as well?” Trump asked the call, according to people.
Zelenskyy said, “Certainly. We can, if we give weapons,” they said.
Trump pointed to his support for the idea, describing the strategy as intended “to make them (the Russians) feel pain” and force the Kremlin at the negotiating table, according to the two people who were informed of the call.
A Western official, who was informed of the invitation, said that the conversation reflects an increasing desire among Western partners in Ukraine to provide long-term weapons capable of “bringing war to Moskovit”-a feeling that US officials have repeated in recent weeks.
The presidential office in the White House and the Ukrainian team did not respond to the requests for comment.
The discussion between Trump and Zelinski led to a list of possible weapons to Kev, which the United States team participates with the Ukrainian President in Rome last week, according to three people who are familiar with him.
During a meeting with US defense officials and brokers from NATO governments, Zelenskyy received a list of long -term strike systems that can be available to Ukraine by transferring the third party.
Trump’s arrangement will allow the circumvention of the freezing of the current Congress on direct US military aid through an arms sales permit for European allies, who will then pass the regimes to Kiev.
The Ukrainians had requested Tomahawk missiles, and the Cruise missiles strictly with a group of about 1,600 km. But the Trump administration – like the Biden Administration – had concerns about Ukraine’s lack of restraint.
During a meeting in the Oval Office with NATO Secretary -General Mark Roti on Monday, Trump Declare A plan to supply Ukraine with national air defense systems and interceptor missiles, but it has not revealed any shipments from other weapons systems.
The US president said he was “very happy” with Russia and its president because of the lack of progress towards an agreement to end its war. “I am disappointed in President (Vladimir) Putin, because I thought we would face a deal two months ago.”
Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian Vice -President and former President of Putin, ignored Trump’s decision. “Trump issued a theatrical warning to the Kremlin … Russia did not care,” Medvedev wrote on X.
Two of the people who were informed of the call between Trump and Zelinski and the knowledge of the US Ukraine’s discussions about the military strategy said that one of the weapons discussed is the army’s tactical missile system, or Atacms.
Ukraine used ATACMS missiles that the United States is known with a group of up to 300 km (186 miles) to strike targets in Russian lands, and in some cases, deeper inside Russia. ATACMS can be launched from Himars Rocket Systems that the Biden administration handed over to Ukraine. But they do not fly enough to reach Moscow or St. Petersburg.
Russia has repeatedly threatened to attack Western targets in response to Western supplies of advanced weapons to Ukraine, but it has not yet done so.
After Ukraine first used the ATACMS system to strike military targets inside Russian sovereign lands last November, Putin said the war “took elements of a global nature” and responded by testing in Oreshnik, a medium experimental missile, in the city of Dnipro.
The Russian President said that Moscow is entitled to “use our weapons against the military facilities of countries that allow their weapons to be used against our facilities, and in the event of aggressive action, we will respond with the same and aspect.”
After ATACMS strikes, Russia also published an updated version of its nuclear doctrine that reduced the threshold for potential use. Changes can imagine a Russian nuclear strike against the United States, the United Kingdom and France – the three nuclear powers in NATO – in response to Ukraine’s strikes on Russia with weapons like Atacms and Storm Shadow Massiles.
Washington has sometimes warned Ukraine against using it deeply inside Russia, but it seems that these restrictions are now relieving.
Ukraine has mostly used long -range drones with local production to strike military targets in the depth of Russia, which helps fuel the war machine.
Its most daring attack was in early June, when the SBU security service in Ukraine launched swarms of bombers hidden inside the pre -homes that were smuggled into Russia and attacked the country’s strategic bombers fleet. Aircraft were used to bomb the Ukrainian cities throughout the war. At least 12 aircraft were severely damaged or destroyed in what Kiev called Spiderweb process.
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