Trump says he threatened Putin to 'bomb the hell out of Moscow' – CNN audio

In 2024, at a closed donor meeting, US President Donald Trump said that he had once tried to deter Russian dictator Vladimir Putin from a full-scale invasion of Ukraine by threatening to "bomb Moscow" in response. The corresponding audio recording was made available by the American channel CNN .

"I told Putin: "If you invade Ukraine, I will bomb the hell out of Moscow. I'm telling you, I have no choice. And then [Putin] says something like: 'I don't believe you'. But he believed me 10%," Trump said at a fundraiser about his conversation with the Russian dictator.

Later, Trump said he allegedly sent a similar warning to Chinese President Xi Jinping about a possible invasion of Taiwan, assuring him that the US would bomb Beijing in response.

"He thought I was crazy," Trump said of Xi, but noted that there had never been a problem between them.

The audio has not been broadcast before. Trump's campaign declined to comment on the content of the recordings.

• on July 2, it became known that the Pentagon suspended the supply of some air defense missiles and other precision munitions to Ukraine due to fears that the US arsenals are too small.
• The FT reported that part of the military aid was stopped on its way to Ukraine.
• Already on July 8, Trump announced his intention to increase military aid to Ukraine, after that, this was announced by and the Pentagon.
• Trump also said that Putin talks a lot of "bullshit" about ending the Russian-Ukrainian war, but his behavior has been meaningless.