President Donald Trump is downplaying the possibility of sending Ukraine long-range weapons as Kyiv awaits an injection of U.S. weaponry that it hopes will help it beat back an intensifying Russian air offensive.

The president’s call for Ukraine to avoid hitting Moscow continued his pattern of swinging between pressure on both sides to end the war and underscored the uncertainties about his strategy.

Trump said the United States would put secondary tariffs on countries that do business with Russia if a peace deal is not reached in 50 days.

Though endlessly critical of his predecessor, President Trump has adopted a Ukraine strategy similar to that of former President Joe Biden: Arm the Ukrainians to the teeth and threaten Russian President Vladimir Putin with even more sanctions if he does not agree to a peace deal.

Pentagon officials said details were still being worked out, and experts doubted Mr. Trump’s threat of huge tariffs for Russian trading partners.

Donald Trump’s remarks on Ukraine on Monday were far from the biggest announcement the US president could have made.

During his campaign, Trump said bringing a quick end to the war was a top priority and that helping Ukraine was a waste of US taxpayer money.