In a shift, President Trump is reportedly considering allowing Ukraine to receive longer-range missiles, enabling deeper strikes into Russia. Officials state Trump has discussed this with European allies and questioned Ukrainian President Zelensky about striking Moscow and St. Petersburg to pressure Russia to end the war.
While the White House dismissed Trump’s question as “taken out of context,” Ukrainian officials reportedly took it seriously and discussed follow-up actions with the US and European partners regarding long-range systems. Ukraine has already used drones to target areas like Moscow.
Trump’s NATO envoy, Matt Whitaker, emphasized defensive weapons like Patriot missiles as the immediate focus but did not rule out providing offensive weapons. This comes as Trump previously criticized President Biden’s decision to send ATACMS missiles to Ukraine.
Currently, the priority appears to be providing Ukraine with air defense systems, particularly Patriot batteries, through a new pipeline where European nations purchase and transfer them from existing stockpiles. Other missile systems are also being considered.
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