Trump tells Zelensky ‘do what you want’ as US blast Putin’s ‘senseless war’ | World | News
Donald Trump angrily refused to lift major restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western long-range missiles, but in doing so he left a cryptic message. The US president used Truth Social in response to a bombshell report from The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday night. Trump effectively absolved Zelensky of responsibility for the use of long-range missiles that were likely to cause consternation in the Kremlin. The president’s comments came after the planned peace summit between Vladimir Putin and the US President in Hungary was cancelled.
Kiev’s army will now be able to target important energy infrastructures as well as military and industrial facilities deep within Russia. U.S. officials have said Ukraine will likely intensify its use of Storm Shadow missiles, which can travel more than 180 miles.
A British-supplied rocket hit an explosives and rocket fuel facility in Bryansk, Russia, on Tuesday, causing major damage.
The policy change was made secretly in Washington, meaning the Pentagon’s General Alexus Grynkewich would be the only official with the authority to approve such strikes.
The senior officer is the top U.S. commander in Europe and also serves as NATO’s military chief. Because the weapon uses U.S. targeting data, Washington still retains some control over how the weapon is deployed.
Confirming the decision, a White House official said: Wall Street Magazine: “This is a war that would never happen if President Trump were President; President Putin has acknowledged it, and President Trump is trying to stop it.
“The President also negotiated a historic agreement allowing NATO allies to purchase American-made weapons.”
However, Donald Trump described the Wall Street Journal report as “fake news” in his post on the Truth Social website in the last few minutes.
“The Wall Street Journal story about US approval of allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles deep into Russia is FAKE NEWS!” wrote. “The United States has nothing to do with these missiles, wherever they come from, or what Ukraine does with them!”
President Trump confirmed on Tuesday that he will not attend the planned conference with Putin in Budapest. He told reporters he did not want to have a “wasted meeting” after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov rejected an immediate ceasefire.
Ukraine had requested permission from the United States to purchase long-range Tomahwk, but this request was rejected by the White House last week.
After a heated meeting at the White House on Friday, President Zelensky left empty-handed.
The Trump administration is also preparing to further increase economic tensions on Russia to force Putin to the negotiating table.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that the White House was preparing to announce increased sanctions against Russia.
“We will be announcing a significant increase in Russia sanctions either after the close of this afternoon or first thing tomorrow morning,” he told reporters.
Later Wednesday, it announced additional sanctions against two major Russian energy firms, Rosneft and Lukoil.
The statement said: “Now is the time to stop the killings and an immediate ceasefire. “Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, the Treasury is imposing sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine.
“Treasury stands ready to take further action if necessary to support President Trump’s efforts to end another war. We encourage our allies to join us and comply with these sanctions.”
