Trump Teases ‘Major Statement’ On Russia As Aerial Attacks On Ukraine Continue

11 Jul 2025 by Siladitya Ray · Forbes

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.

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.”

Key Background

Trump’s criticism of Russia and Putin comes at a time when the country has stepped up drone and missile strikes on major Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv. On Friday, Zelenskyy tweeted that nine people were injured in an overnight drone attack on Kharkiv, and Russia has launched new waves of strikes in the morning as well. Earlier this week, Russia launched its largest aerial attack on Ukraine since the start of its invasion in 2022, using 728 drones and 13 missiles. This was followed by another swarm of 400 drones and 18 missiles a day later. Concerns were raised about Ukraine’s ability to continue defending itself after the Pentagon announced it was halting the delivery of key weapons systems to Kyiv. However, this has since been reversed, with Trump promising more “defensive” weapons for Ukraine.

Tangent

Over 232 people killed and 1,343 injured in Ukraine last month as a result of its ongoing war Russia, according to the United Nations’ estimates. The UN’s Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said this is the highest number of war-related civilian casualties in Ukraine in three years. In a statement issued on Thursday, the head of the UN human rights mission, Danielle Bell, said: “Civilians across Ukraine are facing levels of suffering we have not seen in over three years. The surge in long-range missile and drone strikes across the country has brought even more death and destruction to civilians far away from the frontline.”