Trump downplays possibility of sending Ukraine long-range weapons

President Donald Trump on Tuesday downplayed the possibility of sending Ukraine long-range weapons as Kyiv awaits an injection of U.S. weaponry that it hopes will help it beat back an intensifying Russian air offensive.

Trump offered a more cautious tone on what to expect after he threatened Russia a day earlier with steep tariffs if President Vladimir Putin doesn’t act within 50 days to end the three-year conflict . He also on Monday announced plans to bolster Kyiv’s stockpile by selling American weapons to NATO allies who would in turn send arms to Ukraine.

Providing Ukraine with more long-range weaponry would give Kyiv the chance to strike further into Russian territory, a move that some in Ukraine and the U.S. have said could help push Putin toward negotiations to end the fighting.

Asked if he intended to supply Ukraine with weapons that could reach deeper into Russian territory, Trump replied, “We’re not looking to do that.” He made the remarks to reporters before departing the White House for an energy investment event in Pittsburgh.

While Trump’s threats of weapons, sanctions and tariffs mark the most substantive pressure he’s placed on Putin since returning to office nearly six months ago, some lawmakers said they remain concerned that the administration, with the 50-day deadline, is giving Putin time to grab even more Ukrainian territory.

Sens. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, and Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, said waiting 50 days before imposing sanctions on Russia would give Putin more time to gain an advantage in the war.

“The 50-day delay worries me that Putin would try to use the 50 days to win the war, or to be better positioned to negotiate a peace agreement after having murdered and potentially collected more ground,” said Tillis, who recently announced he won’t run for reelection.

Tillis and Shaheen lead the Senate NATO Observer Group, which facilitates work between Congress and NATO, and met Tuesday with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Capitol Hill.

Trump himself scoffed at the idea that 50 days is giving Putin too much time. The president suggested he may act more quickly if he does not see signs that Putin is taking steps toward ending the conflict.

“I don’t think 50 days is very long and it could be shorter than that,” he said.

Ahead of Trump’s announcement that he would impose a 100% tariff on Russia’s trading partners if Putin doesn’t negotiate an end to the war, bipartisan legislation proscribing even tougher sanctions on Moscow was gaining steam in the Senate.

The legislation, in part, calls for a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports. It would have an enormous impact on the economies of Brazil, China and India, which account for the vast majority of Russia’s energy trade.

But Trump on Monday said “at a certain point it doesn’t matter” how high the tariff is set and that “100% is going to serve the same function.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he was putting the legislation on hold following Trump’s announcement.

Trump during his campaign described the conflict as a waste of U.S. taxpayer money and vowed to quickly end it on his first day back in office. He deflected when asked by a reporter on Tuesday if his tougher tone on Putin suggests he’s now on Ukraine’s side in the bloody conflict.

“I’m on nobody’s side,” Trump said, adding this concern was for “humanity.”

U.S. officials say they are still sorting through Ukraine’s wish list of weaponry to determine what can be most quickly replaced after Trump announced an agreement for Europe to supply Ukraine with defensive munitions from existing stocks.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss arms transfers that have not yet been approved or completed, said Ukraine’s requests for military equipment are roughly the same as they have been since the start of Russia’s invasion. Those include air defenses like Patriot missiles and Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems, long-range missiles known as ATACMS and short- to medium-range ground-to-air missiles known as NASAMs, and assorted artillery, according to the officials.

Under the terms of the very rough agreement sketched out by Trump and Rutte on Monday, NATO members would ship billions of dollars of these weapons to Ukraine and then purchase replacements for them from the United States.

One official said some of the larger items — such as Patriots— could take up to five years to produce to deliver to the European donors, while smaller munitions like 155mm artillery shells can be produced on a much shorter timeline.

Trump has lately changed his once friendly tune toward Putin, whom he has long admired and whom he sided with publicly over his national security team during his first term when asked whether Russia had interfered in the 2016 election.

In recent weeks, Trump has chastised Putin for continuing his brutal assault on Ukrainian cities, even noting that the Russian leader “talks nice and then he bombs everybody.”

Trump has continued to blame his White House predecessors for Putin’s 2022 invasion on neighboring Ukraine — a conflict he says would have never happened if he were reelected in 2020.

“He’s fooled a lot of people,” Trump said Monday at the White House. “He fooled Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden. He didn’t fool me.”

In February, Trump expressed confidence that Putin “will keep his word” on any deal to end the war in Ukraine. But in an interview with the BBC published Tuesday, when asked whether he trusted Putin, Trump paused before answering.

“I trust almost nobody, to be honest with you,” Trump said. “I’m disappointed in him, but I’m not done with him. But I’m disappointed in him.”

Associated Press writers Melissa Goldin and Matthew Lee contributed to this report.

周二，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普淡化了向乌克兰提供远程武器的可能性，而基辅方面正等待美国向其注入武器，希望这些武器能够帮助其击退日益加剧的俄罗斯空袭。

在前一天威胁俄罗斯，如果普京总统不在50天内采取行动结束这场持续三年的冲突，将对俄罗斯征收高额关税之后，特朗普对未来的走向表达了更为谨慎的态度。他还于周一宣布了一项计划，即通过向北约盟国出售美国武器来增强基辅的武器储备，这些盟国随后会向乌克兰提供武器。

向乌克兰提供更多远程武器将使基辅有机会进一步打击俄罗斯领土，乌克兰和美国的一些人表示，此举可能有助于推动普京进行谈判以结束战斗。

当被问及是否打算向乌克兰提供能够射程更远、直达俄罗斯境内的武器时，特朗普回答说：“我们不打算这样做。” 他在离开白宫前往匹兹堡参加能源投资活动前对记者发表了上述言论。

尽管特朗普对普京施加的武器、制裁和关税威胁是他近六个月前重返总统职位以来对普京施加的最实质性的压力，但一些议员表示，他们仍然担心，政府设定的 50 天最后期限会给普京时间去攫取更多的乌克兰领土。

北卡罗来纳州共和党参议员汤姆·蒂利斯和新罕布什尔州民主党参议员珍妮·沙欣表示，在对俄罗斯实施制裁之前等待 50 天，将给普京更多时间在战争中取得优势。

“这50天的延迟让我担心普京会利用这50天赢得战争，或者在杀戮和可能占领更多领土后，更好地进行和平协议谈判，”蒂利斯说道。他最近宣布自己不会竞选连任。

蒂利斯和沙欣领导着参议院北约观察小组，该小组负责促进国会与北约之间的合作。周二，他们在国会山会见了北约秘书长马克·吕特。

特朗普本人对“给普京50天时间太长”的说法嗤之以鼻。总统暗示，如果他看不到普京采取措施结束冲突的迹象，他可能会迅速采取行动。

“我不认为 50 天很长，而且可能更短，”他说。

在特朗普宣布如果普京不通过谈判结束战争，他将对俄罗斯的贸易伙伴征收 100% 的关税之前，一项旨在对莫斯科实施更严厉制裁的两党立法正在参议院获得越来越多的支持。

该法案部分内容要求对从继续购买俄罗斯石油、天然气、铀和其他出口产品的国家进口的商品征收500%的关税。这将对巴西、中国和印度的经济产生巨大影响，因为这三个国家占俄罗斯能源贸易的绝大部分。

但特朗普周一表示，“到了某个阶段，关税高低就无关紧要了”，“100%的关税也能起到同样的作用”。参议院多数党领袖约翰·图恩在特朗普发表上述言论后表示，他将搁置这项立法。

特朗普在竞选期间曾将这场冲突描述为浪费美国纳税人的钱，并誓言上任第一天就迅速结束冲突。周二，当记者问及他对普京更强硬的语气是否意味着他现在在血腥冲突中站在乌克兰一边时，他却避而不答。

“我不会站在任何一方，”特朗普说，并补充说，这种关心是为了“全人类”。

美国官员表示，在特朗普宣布欧洲将向乌克兰提供现有库存的防御性弹药后，他们仍在整理乌克兰的武器需求清单，以确定哪些武器可以最快地被替换。

这些官员在匿名的情况下透露，由于武器转让尚未获得批准或完成，他们表示，乌克兰对军事装备的需求与俄罗斯入侵以来的需求大致相同。据这些官员称，这些装备包括爱国者导弹和先进精确杀伤武器系统等防空系统、ATACMS远程导弹、NASAM中短程地空导弹以及各种火炮。

根据特朗普和吕特周一勾勒出的非常粗略的协议条款，北约成员国将向乌克兰运送价值数十亿美元的此类武器，然后从美国购买替代品。

一位官员表示，一些较大的物品——例如爱国者导弹系统——可能需要长达五年的时间才能生产出来并交付给欧洲捐助者，而像 155 毫米炮弹这样的小型弹药可以在更短的时间内生产出来。

特朗普最近改变了他之前对普京的友好态度。他一直很钦佩普京，并且在他第一个任期内，当被问及俄罗斯是否干预了2016年大选时，他公开站在普京一边，而不是站在他的国家安全团队一边。

最近几周，特朗普谴责普京继续对乌克兰城市进行残酷袭击，甚至指出这位俄罗斯领导人“说着好话，然后就轰炸所有人”。

特朗普一直将普京在 2022 年入侵邻国乌克兰的责任归咎于他的白宫前任们——他表示，如果他在 2020 年连任，这场冲突就不会发生。

“他骗了很多人，”特朗普周一在白宫说。“他骗了克林顿、布什、奥巴马、拜登。但他骗不了我。”

今年2月，特朗普曾表示相信普京“会信守承诺”，履行结束乌克兰战争的任何协议。但在周二发表的BBC采访中，当被问及是否信任普京时，特朗普却停顿了一下才作答。

“说实话，我几乎不信任任何人，”特朗普说。“我对他很失望，但我还没彻底和他断绝关系。但我确实对他很失望。”

美联社记者梅丽莎·戈尔丁和马修·李对本报道亦有贡献。