President Donald Trump, fresh off reaching a new agreement with NATO to arm Ukraine in the face of Russia’s invasion, cautioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky against launching direct military strikes against the Russian capital.
On Monday, Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced that the United States would sell new weapons systems to NATO allies, who would then supply them directly to Ukrainian defense forces.
However, while speaking with reporters before departing the White House on Tuesday, Trump said he did not plan to include long-range missiles in that transfer.
“We’re not looking to do that,” the president said before adding that Zelensky “shouldn’t target Moscow.”
In addition to the new weapons agreement, Trump announced a 50-day window for Russian President Vladimir Putin to cease hostilities or face new 100% tariffs and secondary sanctions. He defended that timeline Tuesday, saying he didn’t think that “50 days is very long, and it could be sooner than that.”
“At the end of 50 days, if we don’t have a deal, it’s gonna be too bad. The tariffs are going to go on, and other sanctions,” he continued before castigating reporters for asking questions about his deadline.
“Did you ask that same question to Biden? Why did he get us into this war?” Trump countered. “Because he’s a dummy, that’s why. Because he’s incompetent. It would have never happened if I were president.”
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Ultimately, despite his apparent shift in support away from Russia toward Ukraine, Trump told reporters that he’s “on nobody’s side” in the conflict.
“You know what side I’m on? Humanity’s side. I want to stop the killing of thousands of people right away,” he closed. “Stop the killing. I want the killing to stop in the Ukraine-Russia war. That’s the side I’m on.”
