The July 15 Financial Times, in an article, titled, “Donald Trump Asked Volodymyr Zelenskyy If Ukraine Could Hit Moscow, Say People Briefed on Call,” asserts that in a July 4 phone call and then at a subsequent meeting, U.S. President Donald Trump urged Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy to use missiles to strike far into Russia. Quotes are given for Trump and Zelenskyy.
The Financial Times article is backed up by an article that appears in the Washington Post the same day, written by Anglo-American intelligence leaker David Ignatius, which advances some of the same report and quotations.
Trump himself and the White House kicked back today on the core question: Does Trump want Ukraine to carry out long-distance hits inside Russia? Trump told reporters, when leaving the White House for Pittsburgh, “No, we’re not looking to do that.” Referring to Zelenskyy, “No, he shouldn’t target Moscow.” Trump said of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, “I’m on nobody’s side. You know whose side I’m on? Humanity’s side.”
The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt today told media that Trump’s words on July 4—see below—were taken out of context. She said that FT is “notorious for taking words out of context to get clicks because their paper is dying.”
Whatever the particulars of the July 4 call, Trump’s intent and exact words, the purpose for fomenting conflict and danger has been served by FT and the Post.
Financial Times states: “Trump has privately encouraged Ukraine to step up deep strikes on Russian territory, even asking Volodymyr Zelenskyy whether he could strike Moscow if the U.S. provided long-range weapons, according to people briefed on the discussions.
“The conversation, which took place during the July 4 call between the U.S. and Ukrainian leaders, marks a sharp departure from Trump’s previous stance on Russia’s war and his campaign promise to end U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts.
“While it remains unclear whether Washington will deliver such weapons, the discussion underscores Trump’s deepening frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to engage in ceasefire talks proposed by the U.S. president, who once vowed to resolve the war in a day.”
