Trump Pledges Weapons for Ukraine, Threatens Russia with Tariffs

President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during their Oval Office visit in February. Zelensky left the contentious meeting without a deal. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday announced a major new military support package for Ukraine, vowing to send “top-of-the-line weapons” through NATO allies, while also threatening to impose 100% tariffs on countries that continue to trade with Russia if a peace deal is not reached within 50 days.

Speaking alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump confirmed that European nations would supply Kyiv with Patriot air defense systems, to be replenished later by the U.S. Rutte said the agreement includes “missiles and ammunition,” with Europe covering the costs.

“If I was Vladimir Putin today… I would reconsider whether I should not take negotiations about Ukraine more seriously,” Rutte warned.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Trump for his support, saying they discussed strengthening Ukraine’s defenses and achieving a “just peace.”

“It’s important that we have such a good relationship, and that the Alliance countries are working to increase defense spending,” Zelensky said in a post on X. “We discussed the necessary means and solutions with the President to provide better protection for people from Russian attacks and to strengthen our positions. We are ready to work as productively as possible to achieve peace.”

Zelensky also said that he and Trump agreed to speak more regularly on the phone to coordinate future steps.

Trump’s tariff threat targets not only Russia, but also its trade partners. Countries like India, for example, could face 100% import taxes on goods entering the U.S. if they continue buying Russian oil — a move aimed at undercutting Russia’s war funding.

Despite the announcement, the Moscow Stock Exchange rose sharply, signaling market relief that Trump’s measures were not even harsher.

The White House provided few specifics on the weapons or tariffs, but this marks Trump’s first formal military commitment to Ukraine since returning to office. While still critical of Kyiv’s role in the ongoing conflict, Trump’s tone toward Putin was notably tougher, calling him “a tough guy” who “fooled a lot of people,” i.e. Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Biden. “He didn’t fool me,” Trump continued. “At a certain point talk doesn’t talk, it’s got to be action.”

Former Putin aide Sergei Markov said that the tariffs are a bluff that revealed Trump had “given up on trying to achieve peace in Ukraine.” Senator Konstantin Kosachev also said that if Monday’s announcement was all Trump had to say about Ukraine, then it was “much ado about nothing.”

These developments come as somewhat of a surprise following a temporary pause on weapons shipments to Ukraine by the Pentagon, and especially following Trump and Zelensky’s contentious meeting in the White House in February, which also included Vice President J.D. Vance.

In that meeting, Trump and Vance told Zelensky that he had not been grateful enough for American support during the war, with Trump later posting on social media that Zelensky had “disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office.”

Previously, UOJ reported that at recent peace talks in June, Russia introduced a set of ceasefire proposals that included not only political and territorial demands but also religious provisions – specifically, the protection of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).

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