Trump asked Zelensky if Ukraine could strike Moscow
The US president told Mr Zelensky that he wanted Ukraine to 'make them [Russians] feel the pain' and force Putin to the negotiation table, sources told the Financial Times.
'Volodymyr, can you hit Moscow? ... Can you hit St Petersburg too?' the US president reportedly asked on the July 4 call.
The Ukrainian president replied: 'Absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons.'
Following the call, Kyiv received a list from US aides of long-range strike systems that could be made available via third-party transfers.
Mr Trump has considered sending Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, according to reports. The strike cruise missiles are capable of hitting targets 1,600km away, which would allow Ukraine to strike Moscow.
His proposal to arm Ukraine was unveiled on Monday, when he announced plans to supply billions of dollars of weapons to Ukraine by selling them to members of the Nato alliance, including the UK, France and Germany, who would then transfer them to Kyiv.
Mr Trump threatened to punish Russia's main trading partners – countries such as China and India – with 100 per cent tariffs if Putin does not sign a peace deal within 50 days.
On Tuesday, Reuters reported that Putin intended to keep fighting in Ukraine until the West engaged on his terms for peace.
Three sources close to the Kremlin said that Putin believes Russia's economy and its military are strong enough to weather any additional Western measures.
'Putin thinks no one has seriously engaged with him on the details of peace in Ukraine, including the Americans, so he will continue until he gets what he wants,' one of the sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.
Despite several telephone calls between Mr Trump and Putin, and visits to Russia by Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy, the Russian leader believes there have not been detailed discussions of the basis for a peace plan, the source said.
'Putin values the relationship with Trump and had good discussions with Witkoff, but the interests of Russia come above all else,' they added.
Putin's conditions for peace include a legally binding pledge that Nato will not expand eastwards, Ukrainian neutrality and limits on its armed forces, protection for Russian speakers who live there, and acceptance of Russia's territorial gains, the sources said.
Mr Zelensky has said Ukraine will never recognise Russia's sovereignty over its conquered regions and that Kyiv retains the sovereign right to decide whether it wants to join Nato.
In a phone call with the BBC on Tuesday, Mr Trump said he was 'disappointed, but not done with Putin'.
'I thought we had a deal done four times and then you go home and you see he just attacked a nursing home or something in Kyiv,' the president told the BBC.
When pressed on whether he trusts the Russian leader, Mr Trump replied: 'I trust almost no-one.'
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