US President Donald Trump has threatened Russia with "very severe" tariffs if there is no cease-fire agreement between Kyiv and Moscow within 50 days and he vowed to supply Ukraine with “billions of dollars” worth of new military hardware in the upcoming days.
Trump, who had promised a "major statement" on July 14 regarding Washington's approach to Russia, said he would use trade to help force an end to the war, which is now in its fourth year, adding "it's great for settling wars."
The US president, speaking at a news conference with NATO leader Mark Rutte, added that he had agreed with the Western military alliance to supply "billions of dollars" worth of military hardware to Ukraine that will be paid for by NATO members.
The weapons the United States will send "within days" to NATO to support Ukraine include Patriot missile systems and batteries, Trump added, noting the US will receive money for all of the equipment it sends to NATO for use in Ukraine.
"We are very unhappy, I am, with Russia," Trump said.
"We are going to do very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days," Trump said, adding that he was talking about secondary tariffs "at about 100 percent."
He gave no further details.
Earlier in the day, US special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv for talks on procuring weapons to repel invading Russian forces.
"We discussed the path to peace and what we can practically do together to bring it closer. This includes strengthening Ukraine's air defense, joint production, and procurement of defense weapons in collaboration with Europe," Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X.
"And of course, sanctions against Russia and those who help it," he said, adding "it is clear that Moscow will not stop unless its unreasonable ambitions are curbed through strength."
Kyiv and cities across Ukraine have come under repeated heavy air attacks from Russia forces in recent weeks, raising the ire of Trump and other officials in Washington, who have begun questioning whether Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to hold peace talks to end Europe's longest and deadliest conflict since the end of World War II.
As if to underline the point, an air-raid alert was declared in Kyiv shortly after the Kellogg-Zelenskyy meeting took place.
The pledge to send additional Patriot air-defense systems to Ukraine indicates a policy shift coinciding with Trump's statement regarding Washington's approach to Russia.
Kyiv has long pleaded for the systems it sees as crucial to defending its cities from Russian air strikes, which Moscow has ramped up in recent weeks.
The Trump administration announced earlier this month was halting some arms supplies to Kyiv.
However, Trump, who has spoken to Putin by phone at least six times since taking office, has since expressed growing frustration with Putin's refusal to agree to a cease-fire.
“We get a lot of bullshit from Putin. It's very nice most of the time but meaningless,” Trump said on July 8.
Trump's sharper criticism of Putin is notable because he has a history of making positive and flattering comments about the Russian leader. Trump had called him “smart" and last year said he had a “very good relationship” with Putin.
Last week, Trump again openly criticized Moscow.
“I’m disappointed in Russia, but we’ll see what happens over the next couple of weeks," he told NBC News.
The United States has delivered three Patriot missile batteries to Ukraine, all during the administration of President Joe Biden. The Patriot is one of the most advanced air-defense systems in the world, capable of intercepting ballistic and cruise missiles.
Ukraine has also received another four Patriot batteries: three from Germany and one from a group of European nations.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has raised the possibility that Berlin could buy Patriots from Washington and then supply them to Kyiv.
Rutte said that countries including Germany, Finland, Canada, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Denmark are among those who have said they would buy weapons through the new mechanism to supply Ukraine.
He said “speed is of the essence here,” and that he hoped the shipments would make Putin “reconsider” peace negotiations.
Rutte is also scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and members of Congress during his two-day visit.
One of Trump’s strongest allies, Senator Lindsey Graham, has backed Trump's move to increase the supply of weaponry to Kyiv, saying that “in the coming days, you’ll see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves.”
"One of the biggest miscalculations Putin has made is to play Trump. And you just watch, in the coming days and weeks, there’s going to be a massive effort to get Putin to the table," Graham told CBS News on July 13.
"This is truly a sledgehammer available to President Trump to end this war," he said.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, who appeared with Graham during the CBS interview, said there was also growing bipartisan consensus in Congress and among European allies regarding the tapping of some of the $300 billion in Russian assets frozen by G7 countries to aid Kyiv.
“It's time to do it,” Blumenthal said.
Russia has stepped up its missile and drone attacks this year, with numbers increasing every month since December, and has intensified barrages on Kyiv and other cities in recent weeks while also pressing forward on the front lines -- albeit with massive casualties among its troops.
