Trump Is Said to Ask Zelenskiy If Ukraine Can Strike Moscow

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“We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100%,” Trump said during a meeting with North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House on Monday.

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Matt Whitaker, the US ambassador to NATO, said the planned action effectively represents secondary sanctions on countries buying oil from Russia. “It’s about tariffs on countries like India and China that are buying their oil,” he told reporters. “And it really is going to, I think, dramatically impact the Russian economy.” 

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China criticized the US effort to pressure Beijing over its energy ties with Moscow. Chinese President Xi Jinping called for deeper engagement with Russia in a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday in Beijing. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said his country opposes “long-arm jurisdiction.”

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Top-of-the-Line

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The comments mark the latest signal of Trump’s growing impatience with Putin’s refusal to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine, which has dragged on since 2022. Yet, the arrangement risks Moscow continuing its barrage on the battlefield for weeks before it considers returning to talks. 

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Putin has insisted he wants iron-clad assurances on resolving what he calls the root causes of the conflict, including by ending Ukraine’s NATO ambitions and Western military support.

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Much of the defense materiel Kyiv will receive will depend on Europe’s ability and willingness to make the purchases. Ukraine needs air-defense systems and drone interceptors as well as a constant supply of artillery shells and missiles.

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Trump said the US was sending a “top-of-the-line weapons” package that includes Patriot air-defense batteries. “We’re not buying it, but we will manufacture it,” Trump said.

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Zelenskiy said Monday in a post on X that he’d spoken with Trump, who briefed him on his discussions with Rutte. “We agreed to catch up more often by phone and coordinate our steps in the future as well,” he posted. 

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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed Trump’s announcement, adding that he “assured him: Germany will decisively contribute.” Merz’s government has suspended debt restrictions on defense spending both for the German army and military aid for Ukraine. Berlin is looking to finance the purchase of two Patriot batteries for Kyiv.

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Trump hailed Monday’s announcement as a major shift in course, but the details of the decision also reflect Trump’s priorities: It won’t cost the US anything and Trump is not dedicating any new US funding to Ukraine, at least for now.

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The NATO chief said the bloc would coordinate among allies to fulfill Ukraine’s military needs including air defense equipment, missiles and ammunition. Germany will play a major part, alongside Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, The Netherlands and Canada, according to Rutte.

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“This is again Europeans stepping up,” Rutte said, adding that Putin should “take negotiations about Ukraine more seriously.”

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