News - World: US President Donald Trump has reportedly urged Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky not to strike Moscow yet pledged to supply Kiev with long-range American missiles said to be capable of flying as far as the Russian capital.

According to various reports, including one published by Britain’s The Sun newspaper on Tuesday, Trump pressed Zelensky during a phone call earlier this month with pointed questions, asking, “Volodymyr, can you hit Moscow? Can you hit St Petersburg too?”

Zelensky reportedly affirmed, “Absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons.”

Yet, Trump later said that, despite reports about his inquiry, he has explicitly warned Zelensky not to contemplate attacking Moscow if he truly sought an end to the conflict in Ukraine.

Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, tried to defend the president, framing the exchange as a probing dialogue rather than an endorsement of escalation.

She insisted that the officials were “merely asking a question, not encouraging further killing.”

Nevertheless, Trump has, at the same time, also pledged to supply Kiev with “top of the line weapons.”

The anticipated arsenal reportedly includes America’s joint air-to-surface standoff cruise missiles (JASSM) and Patriot surface-to-air missile systems – technology that is said to have the potential to strike targets over 400 miles away, encompassing Moscow and other major Russian cities.

Military experts have highlighted the significance of this development, suggesting that the United States has been trying to force its own hand in favor of its ally in yet another global conflict.

Cited by The Sun, Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a British Army commander, suggested that Washington had issued the pledge to provide Kiev with the equipment as a means of trying to leave profound “psychological and physical effects” on Moscow.

Similarly, former intelligence officer Colonel Philip Ingram emphasized how these weapons could be sent to try to disrupt Russian missile and drone launchpads.

Trump has additionally claimed he was “very unhappy” with Russia and vowed to impose 100-percent tariffs on Moscow if President Vladimir Putin refused to negotiate within a specified timeframe.

He has alleged a desire to “stop the killing of thousands of people a week,” sidestepping Washington’s own unstinting military support for Kiev, including the weapons listed as part of the latest pledge.

Observers have, meanwhile, warned that shipment of cutting-edge US missile technology threatened to shifts the military dynamics on the ground, thus risking further violence.

Source: Press TV