White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt. Photo: Zuma Press
During a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US President Donald Trump asked about the potential for strikes on Moscow and St Petersburg. White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said this in a comment to Newsweek.
“President Trump was simply asking questions, not encouraging further killings. He is working tirelessly to stop the killing and end this war,” Levitt said.
In this way, she commented on articles in the Financial Times and The Washington Post, which cited anonymous sources as saying that Trump had allegedly encouraged Ukraine to strike deep into Russia to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to the FT, Trump allegedly said that it was necessary to “make them feel pain” in order to bring Russia to the negotiating table. And according to WP, Zelenskyy replied that Ukraine could strike Russian cities if the US provided the appropriate weapons.
The White House confirmed the fact of such a conversation, but rejected allegations of alleged encouragement from Trump.
“The Financial Times is known for taking words out of context to get clicks because their paper is dying,” said Levitt, the spokeswoman.
