Trump gets "irritated"

New developments in the Russia-Ukraine war

It’s now been twelve days since Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin last talked by phone. It wasn’t a pleasant conversation. Trump described the experience as “bad.” He spoke of his “disappointment.” The Russian read-out, which you can read here, shows Putin claiming that Russia’s war aims will remain the same.

Trump followed this phone call on July 4 with a call to Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It has now been widely reported that Trump asked the Ukrainian president whether Ukraine could hit Moscow or St. Petersburg, to which Zelenskyy replied: “Absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons.”

Washington and Kyiv then coordinated what weapons Ukraine should receive, and until last Friday, Tomahawks were being seriously considered. Tomahawks would enable Ukraine to strike both Moscow and St. Petersburg—something out of reach for the systems the country currently has. However, Trump ultimately demurred on the Tomahawks, evidently worried about the potential for escalation.

However—and this is important—the revelation that the matter was discussed is probably a directed leak. That is, Trump hopes that Putin will become less intransigent if he understands that both Moscow and his native St. Petersburg could become viable targets.