Trump says Ukraine Should not Target Moscow

Trump on Monday gave Russia 50 days to strike a peace deal with Ukraine, voicing exasperation with Moscow, and announcing that NATO members would supply Kiev with new military aid.

In what would be an even more extraordinary shift, the Financial Times reported that Trump spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about providing U.S. missiles to hit Moscow.

But asked by reporters at the White House if Zelensky should look at striking the Russian capital, Trump replied: "No, he shouldn't target Moscow."

Trump had taken office vowing to end the conflict swiftly and to stop the flow of billions of dollars of U.S. weapons to Ukraine.

The Republican put heavy pressure on Zelensky and initially touted his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Under pressure from Trump, Moscow and Kiev opened talks on the conflict, which has ground on for more than three years, but the only concrete result has been prisoner exchanges.

Russia has rejected calls for a ceasefire and launched a record number of drones and missiles at Ukraine in recent months.

Moscow said it needed more time to respond fully to Trump's Monday announcement, but suggested it was not conducive to diplomacy.

"It seems that such a decision made in Washington and in NATO countries and directly in Brussels will be perceived by Kiev not as a signal for peace but for the continuation of the war," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"President Trump's statement is very serious. We certainly need time to analyze what was said in Washington," he told reporters in Moscow's first reaction to the comments.

Trump warned that if no deal was concluded, he would slap severe tariffs on Russia's remaining trade partners in a bid to impede Moscow's ability to finance its military offensive.

Pumped up by huge state spending on soldiers and weapons, as well as by redirecting vital energy exports to the likes of China and India, Russia's economy has so far defied U.S. and EU attempts to push it into a deep recession through sanctions.

  Burden on Europe? 

Most European allies have cheered the return of a hard U.S. line, although Slovakia, led by Moscow-friendly populist Robert Fico, has resisted new EU sanctions on Russia.

But EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas also called for the United States to help fund the new weapons.

"We welcome President Trump's announcement to send more weapons to Ukraine, although we would like to see U.S. share the burden," Kallas said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

"If you promise to give the weapons, but say that it's somebody else who is going to pay for it, it is not really given by you."

Trump has been pushing allies to step up defense spending — and to buy from U.S. manufacturers — and has long said the United States shoulders too much of NATO's burden.

Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden — which joined NATO after Russia sent troops into Ukraine in 2022 — all said they wanted to participate in Trump's plan.

Sweden's Defense Minister Pal Jonson in a statement to AFP said his country "would contribute" and said Ukraine was in "great need of more air defense," given Russia's "constant bombings and attacks."

At least 12 injured in Russian strikes 

At least 12 people were wounded in Russian overnight strikes on Ukraine, local authorities said Wednesday.

Eight people were wounded in strikes on Ukraine's central region of Vinnytsia, the regional military administration said on social media.

Three people were also wounded in an attack on Ukraine's second city, Kharkiv, the region's governor Oleg Synegubov said on Telegram.

And a 17-year-old boy was fighting for his life after Russian missile and drone strikes destroyed an industrial building in south-central Kryvyi Rig, the city's mayor said on Telegram.

"This has never happened before. A ballistic missile and 28 Shaheds simultaneously," Oleksandr Vilkul, the mayor of the city, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's hometown, wrote on Telegram.

He confirmed the teenage boy suffered a wound to his abdomen and was receiving medical treatment.

Three people were killed in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday, according to local authorities.

Source: HDN