Trump tells Zelensky not to attack Moscow

The statement follows a media report that the US president had privately encouraged Kiev to step up long-range strikes deep into Russia

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he told Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky not to target Moscow with military strikes. The statement comes in response to media speculation that he had encouraged Kiev to carry out long-range missile attacks deep into Russia.

The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Trump had privately asked Zelensky whether he could hit Moscow and St. Petersburg if Washington supplied long-range weapons. Zelensky reportedly replied that he could.

Asked by reporters whether Zelensky ought to fire missiles at Russia’s capital, Trump replied “No, he shouldn’t target Moscow.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt accused the FT of twisting the president’s words, saying it is “notorious for taking words wildly out of context to get clicks because their paper is dying.”

Leavitt insisted that Trump was “merely asking a question, not encouraging further killing,” stressing that the president was “working tirelessly to stop the killing and end this war.”

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Trump under ‘improper pressure’ from EU and NATO – Lavrov

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also weighed in on the report, noting that “as a rule, all of this usually turns out to be fake.” He added, however, that “sometimes there are indeed serious leaks, even in publications we once considered quite respectable.”

The FT report followed on Trump’s ultimatum to Moscow, in which he threatened to impose “severe” secondary tariffs on Russia’s trade partners if no progress towards peace is made within 50 days. Trump also announced future deliveries of advanced weapons systems to Ukraine, which are to be funded by European NATO members.

Since taking office in January, Trump has maintained that he wants the neighboring countries to make peace and has had several phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin that were focused on settling the conflict.

Moscow says it remains open to negotiating with Kiev but has yet to receive a response on when new peace talks will take place. The two sides have held two rounds of direct negotiations in Istanbul so far this year, but no breakthroughs were achieved, other than agreements to carry out large-scale prisoner exchanges.

READ MORE: Kremlin responds to Trump’s 50-day ultimatum

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on Tuesday that EU and NATO leaders have put Trump under “improper pressure” to adopt a hardline stance on the conflict.