- President Donald Trump reportedly questioned Ukraine about its ability to strike Moscow.
- Sen. John Curtis said the U.S. should not publicly take that option off the table for Ukraine.
- Curtis said he was "pleased" Trump restarted weapons shipments after a pause.
Utah Sen. John Curtis said the United States should not publicly place limits on how Ukraine uses American weapons during an appearance on “The Lead” with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Tuesday night.
The Financial Times, and other outlets, reported on Tuesday that President Donald Trump had asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy if the country had the ability to strike the Russian capital of Moscow.
Later that same day, Trump told reporters that “we’re not looking to do that,” and the White House issued a statement saying Trump’s comments had been taken out of context.
But Curtis said that to avoid the same problems that prevented Ukraine from quickly repelling Russia’s invasion early on, the United States should not announce whether the country can use weapons to go on the offensive.
“I think one of the mistakes we’ve made is taking things off the table,” Curtis said. “(S)imply from a strategic advantage we shouldn’t talk about what we’re not going to allow them to do publicly.”
The senator, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with Utah Sen. Mike Lee, said the policymakers he associates with are pleased the Trump administration has restarted weapons shipments to Europe.
In early July, a Department of Defense official moved to halt military shipments to Ukraine, apparently without the knowledge of many Republican officials and allies, out of concern that U.S. munitions were running low.
Curtis said he has not received a “satisfactory answer” from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on why the decision was made. He said he “absolutely” would support asking Hegseth to testify to Congress on the issue.
Last week, Trump announced his administration would reverse the temporary pause in arms shipments to Ukraine by allowing NATO allies to purchase weapons from the U.S. and then deliver them to Ukraine.
The reversal earned the praise of many more traditional Republicans, including former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley and Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, who said it represented a “peace through strength” approach.
But it also angered the more isolationist wing of the GOP and Libertarian Party, including former Congressman Justin Amash and Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who said the move ran contrary to Trump’s “MAGA” base.
The U.S. has provided Ukraine with around $70 billion in military assistance and $32 billion in Department of Defense stockpiles, since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, according to the U.S. Department of State.
However, over the past 3½ years, the U.S. has approved five bills appropriating around $175 billion to sustain the Ukrainian government budget and give humanitarian support in addition to military aid.
What has been lacking is a game plan or timeline for ending the war, Curtis said. But Trump’s latest announcement was coupled with a threat of new 100% tariffs on Russia if no ceasefire deal is reached within the next 50 days.
“And I think one of the mistakes we’ve made in Ukraine in the past is we haven’t been strategic about what we’re sending over and what we’re actually trying to achieve,” Curtis said.
The key to helping Ukraine “win — not just survive — this war" is to give the country the support it needs to defend itself and rebuff Russian President Vladimir Putin, Curtis said in a post on X sharing his CNN interview.
And that includes not “dictating red lines for Ukraine from Washington,” according to Curtis. When asked what he thought about Ukraine attacking Moscow, Curtis said it should remain an option.