Trump says Kyiv should put more pressure not only on Moscow but also on St Petersburg – WP

US President Donald Trump asked President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during their phone call why Kyiv had not struck Moscow, adding that Ukraine should exert more pressure on Putin, including through strikes on Russia's capital and St Petersburg.

Source: Washington Post journalist David Ignatius, citing sources

Quote from the article: "Trump's determination to squeeze Putin was conveyed in a conversation last week with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a source told me. Trump asked Zelenskyy why he didn't hit Moscow. 'We can if you give us the weapons,' Zelenskyy said. Trump said Ukraine needed to put more pressure on Putin, not just Moscow but St Petersburg, too."

Details: Ignatius wrote that in addition to providing Patriots, Trump also considered sending Ukraine Tomahawk cruise missiles, the same weapons used last month against Iranian targets.

"If fired from Ukraine, these could hit Moscow and St Petersburg, and they were included in discussion as late as Friday. But the Tomahawks are off the delivery list for now, I'm told. They could be deployed later if Trump wants even more leverage," he said.

Ignatius sources stated that Trump had decided to escalate for three reasons. First, he believes that Putin does not respect him, pretending to seek peace while ignoring the US president’s call for a ceasefire. Second, he has seen the effectiveness of US military power with the use of B-2 bombers and Tomahawk missiles against Iran. And third, he believes that Putin will only agree to talks under the threat of greater force.

"As the Russians like to say, Trump decided to 'escalate to de-escalate'," Ignatius noted.

He believes Trump made the right choice in recognising that Putin would not make concessions without increased pressure. Meanwhile, the journalist highlighted that the US president has embarked on a path of escalation, the risks of which remain unknown.

"It was interesting that the one question Trump didn't want to answer in Monday's Oval Office session was: If Putin decides to escalate further, how far are you willing to go in response? 'Don't ask me a question like that. ‘How far?'' Trump snapped. 'I just want to get the war settled,'" the WP article stated.

Background:

• On 14 July, Trump announced an agreement between the US and NATO under which supplies of American weapons to Ukraine will be paid for by European allies.
• Trump also announced the delivery of additional Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine.
• "We're going to have some come very soon – within days, actually. A couple of the countries that have Patriots are going to swap over, and we'll replace the Patriots with the ones they have," Trump said.

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