U.S. President Donald Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky whether Moscow could be struck if the United States provided long-range weapons, the Financial Times (FT) reported on the 15th.
According to multiple sources, President Trump asked President Zelensky during a phone call on the 4th whether the United States could attack Moscow and other major Russian cities if it provided long-range weapons.
President Trump asked, "Volodymyr, can we hit Moscow, and can we also strike St. Petersburg?" to which President Zelensky replied, "Of course. If we’re given the weapons, we can do it."
FT noted that President Trump’s attitude and thoughts regarding the war in Ukraine have greatly changed.
Two sources familiar with the call indicated that President Trump signaled support for Ukraine’s strikes against Russian targets, believing it was a strategy to make Russia feel pain and bring them to the negotiating table.
The conversation between President Trump and President Zelensky led to the U.S. and Ukraine sharing a "potential list of weapons" last week in Rome.
The meeting included U.S. defense officials and mediators from key NATO member countries. President Zelensky was reported to have received a list of long-range strike systems that could be provided through a third country.
Ukraine has also reportedly requested Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of 1,600 kilometers from the United States. However, the Trump administration shares the same concerns as the Biden administration regarding how restrictively Ukraine would utilize them.
President Trump announced on the 14th that he would provide the Patriot system and other weapons to Ukraine through NATO, but he did not specify other weapon systems.
FT added that both the White House and the Ukrainian presidential office did not respond to requests for comment.