Trump hints at Russia confrontation: 'You'll see things happening'
His comments come as pressure mounts following the release of a leaked audio recording in which Trump boasted about threatening to bomb Moscow and Beijing. Speaking at a 2024 fundraiser, he claimed: "If you go in to Ukraine, I'm gonna bomb the sh*t out of Moscow." He said he issued a similar warning to Chinese President Xi Jinping regarding Taiwan. Critics have denounced the remarks as reckless attempts at nuclear intimidation, revealing more about Washington's desperation than its strength.
Despite such threats, observers note that the United States has embarrassingly failed to subdue far less powerful adversaries. Washington's recent military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, carried out with "Israel," failed to achieve any strategic breakthrough. Instead, the US is now quietly pleading for renewed negotiations with Tehran, an admission, many say, of the incoherence and futility of American aggression. If Washington cannot force Iran to heel, critics ask, how does it expect to intimidate a nuclear-armed Russia?
Meanwhile, Trump confirmed that NATO will assume the financial burden for continued US arms shipments to Ukraine, reflecting a shift in cost-sharing as the alliance deepens its military entanglement. Reuters, citing anonymous officials, reported that Trump is preparing to authorize the transfer of $300 million in weapons from US stockpiles, further fueling a war that Russia views as the result of NATO's expansionist policies and Kiev's Western-backed nationalism.
Read more: NATO to fully reimburse US weapon shipments to Ukraine: Trump
Since the 2014 US-engineered coup in Ukraine, Moscow has accused the Ukrainian government of committing atrocities in the Donbas, where Russian-speaking communities have been subjected to years of shelling, persecution, and war crimes. The International Public Tribunal on the Crimes of Ukrainian Neo-Nazis has documented mass killings and targeted violence, acts Russia deems genocidal.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reaffirmed in May that Russian strikes have been strictly limited to military targets. "These are retaliatory actions," Lavrov said, rejecting accusations of indiscriminate attacks as Western propaganda.
Trump's upcoming announcement on Monday is expected to clarify US policy, but many question whether the latest moves represent strategy or improvisation.
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