US President Donald Trump has directed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to present a "victory fund" initiative for Ukraine to European allies during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky"s upcoming visit to Washington, according to a report by The Telegraph.
The "victory fund" aims to utilize funds generated from tariffs of up to 500% on Chinese imports to procure weapons for Ukraine. Bessent stated, "President Trump has instructed the ambassador and myself to tell our European allies that we would be in favour of whether you would call it a ‘Russian oil tariff’ on China or a ‘Ukrainian victory tariff’ on China. But our Ukrainian or European allies have to be willing to follow. We will respond if our European partners will join us."
Additionally, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth emphasized the United States" readiness to impose costs on Russia if the conflict continues, stating, "If this war does not end, if there is no path to peace in the short term, then the United States, along with our allies, will take the steps necessary to impose costs on Russia for its continued aggression. [...] If we must take this step, the US War Department stands ready to do our part in ways that only the United States can do."
For further context on related developments, see recent developments regarding Zelensky"s meetings with US defense and energy companies.
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