U.S. President Donald Trump signaled the possibility of placing additional sanctions on Russia for its war in Ukraine.

Asked about the prospect while speaking to reporters Tuesday, Trump responded, “Sounds likely.”

Trump said his administration has been in talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and would be speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin “very soon.”

He said the European Union should be “paying a lot more than they’re paying” to aid Ukraine, while falsely stating the U.S. has contributed $200 billion more than the EU.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the United States has committed about $175 billion in aid for Ukraine. The European Union says the bloc and its member states have made about $145 billion in aid available.

Trump says Europe should be paying more because its proximity means the war has a greater effect on the EU than the United States.

“I mean, what are we, stupid? I guess the answer is yes, because they must think so,” Trump said.

He has previously complained that NATO allies are not allocating enough of their spending to defense and called for increased defense budget targets.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said during a speech Wednesday at an EU Defence Agency conference that, in terms of general defense spending, Trump is “right to say that we don’t spend enough,” and that the EU needs to invest more.

She called for the EU to provide “more, faster and stronger” support to Ukraine, saying that Ukrainians “are fighting for their freedom and ours.”

“There is absolutely no doubt that we can do more to help Ukraine,” Kallas said. “With our help, they can also win the war.”

Aerial attacks

Ukrainian officials said Wednesday the country’s air defenses shot down dozens of drones overnight, including in Mykolaiv where Governor Vitaliy Kim said falling debris damaged an apartment building and injured two people.

Officials in the Khmelnytskyi and Sumy regions also reported drones being shot down in their areas.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it destroyed six Ukrainian drones over the Rostov region, while also knocking down a drone over Kursk and another over Voronezh.

Rostov Governor Yury Slyusar said drone fragments fell in the courtyard of a house, but that no one was injured.

Ceasefire provisions

Zelenskyy said Tuesday that if a ceasefire deal were enacted with Russia, “at least 200,000 European peacekeepers” would need to be on the ground in Ukraine to defend the Eastern European country against a possible attack by Russia.

Zelenskyy said Europe must “take care of itself.” He said 200,000 peacekeepers from European countries would be the minimum number of peacekeepers required, “Otherwise, it’s nothing.”

“Let’s not forget, there is no ocean separating European countries from Russia,” Zelenskyy said in his address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Ukraine’s president said Russia’s demand that Ukraine reduce its army to one-fifth of its current size of 800,000 is not an option. 

Ukraine’s best defense during a ceasefire deal, Zelenskyy said, would be its membership into NATO. 

Alliance members have declared the Ukraine is on an “irreversible” path to membership, but the United States, Germany and others oppose allowing Ukraine to join while the war is ongoing for fear of sparking a wider conflict..

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters
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