US President Donald Trump privately encouraged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to intensify attacks within Russian territory, asking whether Ukraine could target cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg if provided with the appropriate weapons, according to a report, citing two people briefed on the conversation.
“Volodymyr, can you hit Moscow? . . . Can you hit St Petersburg too?” Financial Times quoted Trump as saying during a July 4 call with Zelensky.
Zelenskyy reportedly replied, “Absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons.”
The provocative remarks made by Trump to Zelenskyy reportedly came just a day after a tense phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which Trump later described as “bad,” according to Financial Times, citing sources.