Topline
President Donald Trump will deliver a “major statement” on Russia next week, he told NBC News on Thursday night while sharing details on new U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine, as Moscow continued to expand its aerial attacks on major Ukrainian cities, including its capital, Kyiv.
Russia has launched a spate of devastating drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities in the past … More
Key Facts
The president told NBC News that he was “disappointed in Russia, but we’ll see what happens over the next couple of weeks.”
Without offering details, Trump said he will deliver a “major statement” on Russia on Monday.
The president also discussed details about weapons shipments to Ukraine in what he described as a deal between the U.S., NATO and Ukraine.
Trump said the U.S. was sending weapons to NATO, which the alliance was paying for “100%” and then NATO would be sending those weapons to Ukraine.
The president didn’t clarify if he meant specific NATO members were paying for these weapons and sending them to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not commented on Trump’s latest remarks, but he met with Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on the sidelines of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome.
What Do We Know About Trump’s Recent Criticism Of Putin?
During a cabinet meeting earlier this week, Trump laid into Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying: “We get a lot of bullsh*t thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.” This marked a significant shift in tone from Trump, who has previously been more critical of Ukraine and even suggested Putin wants to end the war. While hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump announced he would send defensive weapons to Ukraine, noting, “They have to be able to defend themselves…They’re getting hit very hard now.” The comments were in response to a recent escalation in drone and missile attacks by Russia on major Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv.
What Do We Know About The Bipartisan Senate’s Russia Sanctions Bill?
Trump has not announced what his statement on Russia will be about, but it comes at a time when a bipartisan Senate bill, co-sponsored by Graham and Blumenthal, is pushing for heavy U.S. tariffs on countries that continue to buy Russian oil and minerals. If it passes, the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 will impose a 500% tariff on countries like India and China, which have been among the biggest purchasers of Russian energy since its invasion of Ukraine. During the Tuesday cabinet meeting, Trump said he was looking at the bill “very strongly,” and is open to this option. Graham told CNN on Wednesday that “You can tell yesterday the president’s willing to change course, and this bill will give him significant leverage over China and India, who prop up Putin’s war machine.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/07/11/trump-teases-major-statement-on-russia-as-aerial-attacks-on-ukraine-continue/