American President Donald Trump reportedly asked his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky if Ukraine could „hit” Moscow or St. Petersburg.
According to the Financial Times (FT), the conversation allegedly took place on July 4, just a day after Trump had spoken on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Can you attack Moscow? Can you also attack Saint Petersburg?"
As per sources cited by the Financial Times, Trump reportedly directly asked Zelensky: "Volodymyr, can you attack Moscow? Can you also attack Saint Petersburg?" The Ukrainian leader allegedly responded affirmatively, adding: "Of course, if you give us the weapons."
The discussion supposedly focused on the possibility of intensifying Ukrainian attacks inside Russia.
Trump allegedly encouraged Kiev to intensify attacks on Russian territory
The British publication writes that Donald Trump encouraged Zelensky to continue attacks on Russian territory and to "make Russia feel the pain," with the idea of forcing the Kremlin to accept a negotiated solution to the war that began in February 2022.
Zelensky reportedly told Trump that Ukraine could target the mentioned Russian cities only if Washington approves the delivery of long-range action weapons.
According to sources cited by FT, the American President even brought up the possibility of sending ATACMS missiles, produced in the USA, which can reach targets hundreds of kilometers away.
White House has no comment, Reuters does not confirm
The White House did not respond to Reuters' request for comment on the information, and the news agency emphasizes that it could not independently verify what was reported by the Financial Times.
On Tuesday, in an interview with the BBC, Donald Trump stated that he is disappointed with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but emphasized that he has not "finished" with him, leaving open the possibility of future negotiations.