US President Donald Trump has privately encouraged Ukraine to step up deep strikes on Russian territory, even asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky whether he could strike Moscow if the US provided long-range weapons, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing people briefed on the discussions.
The newspaper, citing two people familiar with the conversation between Trump and Zelensky, said the US president had asked his Ukrainian counterpart whether he could hit military targets deep inside Russia if he provided weapons capable of doing so.
The White House did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Reuters could not verify the report.
White House showing support to Ukraine
The US will send "top-of-the-line weapons" to Ukraine via NATO countries, US President Donald Trump announced on Monday.
This came along with a threat to Russia of severe tariffs if they were unable to reach a deal to end the war within the next 50 days, the BBC reported.
Following a meeting with NATO Chief Mark Rutte in Washington, Trump said, "We want to make sure Ukraine can do what it wants to do."
Rutte had confirmed the US decided to "massively supply Ukraine with what is necessary through NATO."