Trump To Sell Weapons To Europe For Transfer To Ukraine

On Monday, President Trump reportedly asked Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky if Ukraine could strike Moscow and St. Petersburg if Trump offered the necessary weapons. He also revealed a plan in which European nations would buy American weapons and transfer them to Ukraine.

Reports in The Financial Times and The Washington Post cited anonymous sources saying that Trump had encouraged Zelensky to strike deeper into Russia, but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted those reports, telling Newsweek, “The Financial Times is notorious for taking words wildly out of context to get clicks because their paper is dying. President Trump was merely asking a question, not encouraging further killing. He’s working tirelessly to stop the killing and end this war.”

In a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, Trump set a deadline for Russia: If no peace deal is reached with Ukraine in 90 days, he will be “doing very severe tariffs … Tariffs at about 100%, you’d call them secondary tariffs. You know what that means.” A White House official told CNN that “secondary tariffs” meant secondary sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil.

“I am grateful to President Trump for his readiness to help protect our people’s lives,” Zelensky wrote on X. “This war continues solely because of Russia, because of Putin’s desire to drag it out. Russia is trying to make the war seem like the ‘new normal.’ We must never put up with this. Everything humanly possible must be done to force Russia to stop the killings, to achieve real peace, and to ensure security. Peace is only possible through strength. Russia’s war financing must be cut off. Its ties with Iran and North Korea must be cut off. Any supply of components and equipment for Russia’s military industry must be cut off.”

“I’m grateful to our team and to the United States, Germany, and Norway for preparing a new decision on Patriots for Ukraine,” he continued. “We are also working on major defense agreements with America.  Ukraine is absolutely ready for all honest and effective steps toward peace – lasting peace – and real security. It is Russia that isn’t ready. It is Russia that must be forced. And this is whatʼs happening.”

I am grateful to President Trump for his readiness to help protect our people’s lives. This war continues solely because of Russia, because of Putin’s desire to drag it out. Russia is trying to make the war seem like the “new normal.” We must never put up with this. Everything… pic.twitter.com/i16GSeTSqZ

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 14, 2025

“I spoke with @POTUS,” Zelensky said. “It was a very good conversation. Thank you for the willingness to support Ukraine and to continue working together to stop the killings and establish a lasting and just peace.  President Trump shared details about his meeting with the @SecGenNATO. It’s important that we have such a good relationship, and that the Alliance countries are working to increase defense spending. We discussed the necessary means and solutions with the President to provide better protection for people from Russian attacks and to strengthen our positions. We are ready to work as productively as possible to achieve peace. We agreed to catch up more often by phone and coordinate our steps in the future as well. Thank you, Mr. President! Thank you, America!”

I spoke with @POTUS. It was a very good conversation. Thank you for the willingness to support Ukraine and to continue working together to stop the killings and establish a lasting and just peace.

President Trump shared details about his meeting with the @SecGenNATO. It’s…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 14, 2025

On Monday, President Trump also spoke of sending weapons to help Ukraine and placing sanctions on Russia.

“My conversations with him [Putin] are very pleasant, and then the missiles go off at night,” Trump said. “He fooled Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden — he didn’t fool me.”

“Europe has a lot of spirit for this war,” Trump continued. “When I first got involved I really didn’t think they did, but they do. The level of esprit de corps they have is amazing,” CNN reported.

U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker spoke of Trump’s comments about sending a “full complement” of weapons to Ukraine, saying, “All weapons are both offensive and defensive. Obviously an air defense system is important and critical for the situation, but at the same time we’re not taking anything off the table.”