Joe Barnes Brussels Correspondent.
Connor Stringer Washington Correspondent
15 October 2025 9:05pm BST
Donald Trump is working on establishing a Ukraine victory fund which will be bankrolled by fresh tariffs on China.
The US president instructed Scott Bessent, his treasury secretary, to float the plan to European counterparts ahead of Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Washington DC on Friday.
Mr Trump, who previously claimed Mr Zelensky did not “hold the cards” for a military victory, is increasingly losing patience with Vladimir Putin, and his proposal for a Ukraine war shift marks a significant change in his position.
His language was mimicked by Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of defence, who told a meeting of Nato counterparts that the US was prepared to support Kyiv “in ways that only the United States can do” should Russia continue to shun peace talks.
Discussions in Brussels focused on the potential delivery of long-range Tomahawk missiles and funding Ukraine’s armed resistance into a fifth year.
“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,” Mr Bessent told reporters in Washington on Wednesday.
“But our Ukrainian or European allies have to be willing to follow. We will respond if our European partners will join us.”
The strategy would introduce a 500 per cent levy on imports from China, with the money generated being used on weapons for Ukraine’s military.
The plan is designed to put maximum economic pressure on Putin, whose war machine is reliant on Chinese support, to come to the negotiating tables with Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky.
Diplomatic sources in Washington told The Telegraph that the idea of sanctioning China over its purchases of Russian oil had previously faced roadblocks from European governments.
Beijing has been labelled as a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war by Nato nations, but many of the alliance’s member states, including Britain, have refused to brand it an enemy.
Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine’s defence minister, told allies on Wednesday that Ukraine would need $120bn to fund another year of armed resistance in 2026.
Discussions at Nato HQ, co-chaired by Britain, focused on how to raise half of that amount, which Mr Shmyhal said would have to come from Kyiv’s supporters.
A second “important issue” was donations of “long range missiles, which our partners have. The name of these missiles, everyone knows, absolutely, widely known,” Mr Shmyhal added.
Shipments of Tomahawk missiles are expected to top the agenda when Mr Zelensky and Mr Trump hold talks at the end of the week.
Asked about Mr Zelensky’s plea for Tomahawk missiles, Mr Trump said on Wednesday that he was considering “other options”.
“They want to go offensive. I’ll make a determination on that, but they would like to go offensive and we’ll have to make a determination,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.
European Nato sources said they were supportive of the move, which would give Ukraine greater ability to strike Russian targets deep behind the front line, but acknowledge the decision lies solely in the hands of the US president.
Mr Shmyhal said the decision could not be taken at the meeting of Nato defence ministers and would have to be sealed between the two presidents on Friday.
If Mr Trump agrees, it is expected that European nations will have to foot the bill for the missiles and training through Nato’s Purl scheme, which delivers US weapons to Kyiv paid for by European governments.
‘Peace through strength’
Without naming the weapon, Mr Hegseth signalled Washington was ready to deliver the “firepower” needed for Ukraine to achieve “peace through strength”.
“If there’s anything we’ve learnt under President Trump it’s the active application of peace through strength. You get peace when you are strong, not when you use strong words or wag your finger. You get it when you have strong and real capabilities that adversaries respect,” he said.
Mr Hegseth later added: “Now, 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.”
The US is the only country to manufacture and sell Tomahawks to its closest allies around the world.
The US previously hit India with an extra 25 per cent on top of trade tariffs because of its purchase of Russian oil.
On Wednesday, Mr Trump said Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, had assured him the country would stop buying fossil fuels from Moscow, a key revenue source for Putin.
“That’s a big stop. Now we’ve got to get China to do the same thing,” the US president added.
Mr Trump has become more vocal in his support for Ukraine in the months since his fruitless talks with Putin in Alaska.
He shocked Mr Zelensky last month by suggesting Kyiv was “in a position to fight and win all of Ukraine back in its original form” after their meeting on the fringes of the United Nations General Assembly.
He was previously adamant that Ukraine would have to cede territory to Russia as the price of any peace deal.
The Trump administration has renewed its efforts to end the war in Ukraine this week after brokering a deal ending the fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
On Wednesday, the British government sanctioned Russia’s two largest oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, and 51 shadow fleet tankers in a new effort to choke off energy revenues that flow into its war chest.
The two companies were considered strategically significant to the Kremlin and are thought to contribute to state revenues that help sustain Putin’s war in Ukraine.
“We are introducing targeted sanctions against the two biggest oil companies in Russia, Lukoil and Rosneft,” Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, told reporters while on a trip in the United States. “At the same time, we are ramping up pressure on companies in third countries, including India and China, that continue to facilitate getting Russia oil onto global markets.”
Rosneft is Russia’s leading oil producer, accounting for around 40 per cent of the country’s total output, and Lukoil is the second biggest, with the largest foreign exposure among its domestic peers.
“His language was mimicked by Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of defence, who told a meeting of Nato counterparts that the US was prepared to support Kyiv “in ways that only the United States can do” should Russia continue to shun peace talks.”
Hegseth has flipped on his pro-putler bullshit to chime in with his boss. Possibly some of the other cruds in kremlin west will flip also; provided Krasnov doesn’t pivot back again.
But peace talks are still pointless because putler will just reiterate his previous totally unacceptable terms, which btw are pretty close to the stinking Captain Cornflake surrender document of shame.
Ukraine desperately wants peace. But after suffering such agony, why should they reward the most evil nazi motherfucker of all history?
Does Krasnov understand that?
“On Wednesday, Mr Trump said Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, had assured him the country would stop buying fossil fuels from Moscow, a key revenue source for Putin.
“That’s a big stop. Now we’ve got to get China to do the same thing,” the US president added.”
That is a major achievement if true. But Modi is a slippery bastard and can never be trusted.
Comment from :
Donal Fellows
China tariffs are paid for by US consumers who ultimately are charged higher prices by suppliers and retailers to recover the tariff costs they have to pay. Perhaps best not to mention this to Donald Trump and his team who seem to believe that China pays them directly to the US Treasury.
Magaputler troll :
James Stahl
What happened to America First? Trump is selling out his country.
An interesting post that appears to have come from an inmate of an institution for the criminally insane :
Mary-Ellen Kelly
a new bank to fund crypto and other financial scam start ups – with ties to Trump and his £billionaire pals – EREBOR (THINK THE HOBBIT) the Kingdom under the Mountain, a prosperous Dwarf realm founded by Thráin I and later reclaimed by his descendant Thorin Oakenshield. – TOLKIEN’S DWARVES REPRESENT THE JEWS – who were cast out of their mountain home and scattered to wander – so EREBOR is it a zionist bank to fund UKUSA MILITARY CAMP ISRAEL crypto-fintech startups?
A filthy, stinking kremtroll :
Vasily Ptashka
A usual flip-flop for a person with a very scant knowledge of Russian, Russian-Ukrainian history, traditions and language and proper causes of this tragic conflict. It’s a sad picture really to see a very decent American president being massively brain-washed and dumbed-down by a bloody Krivoy Rog comedian, his sidekicks turned politicians now in Kiev and three Trojan chihuahua ”mighty” states on the Baltic Sea plus Poland of course.
Donna Jones
In effect getting China to pay for the weapons for both sides with America getting the cash from China to supply Ukraine and also keep the US MIC making profits. Either Putin negotiates or he helps keep the wheels of the American defence industry turning. It’s clever but will Trump change his mind again.
kitty stephens
Reply to Donna Jones
The US already has secondary tariffs on India. We are waiting to see if European countries are committed to adopting the Chinese tariffs before we dive in. So if it happens it will happen in Europe first.
Andrew James
Reply to Donna Jones –
But it is the American company that is importing the product that is the purchaser and therefore it is THE AMERICAN COMPANY THAT PAYS THE TARIFF, not the Chinese exporter so either the goods become much more expensive for the Anerican importer and this will be passed on to the American consumer increasing prices and therefore fuelling inflation, or the importer and/or exporter decide that it is simply no longer cost effective and if the products cannot be obtained from a US manufacturer then US companies will struggle or go out of business for want of supplies. How many times does this have to be explained ffs 🤦♂️ 🙄🤷♂️ Repeat after me – it is NOT the Chinese who pay the imposed tariffs it is the US importer !!!
Jonathan Karmi
This is a massive turnaround by Trump and his Administration. As a strong supporter of Ukraine I find it quite bewildering. It was obvious to everyone that Trump had misjudged Putin and his regime, but the suspicion of kompromat was always lurking due to his past dealings in Russia. When this fund does happen and the first Tomahawk lands in Russia, then we can finally put those suspicions to bed. I very much hope that happens.
Roy Vigus
Cutting off Russias oil income is a no brainer.
Timing is good at present as oil is cheap anyway so Pootin must be suffering.
Gavan Sullivan
A 500% tariff on China would raise nothing, as nothing would be imported at those prices.
This is the President who has not given a single bullet to Ukraine since coming to office.
All that tariffs do in the long term is impoverish those who impose them. Do you think the EU would impose such a tariff on their largest trading partner?
Up The North
Trump is a Russian asset. The world knows it. He will not push China its just more talk. Stop talking trump and start acting. Ukraine needs these weapons now not in months. Russia is bombing their infrastructure like mad. Ukraine needs to be able to respond.
Trump thinks Ukraine started the war
Told Ukraine it does not have the cards
Tried to force them to give up territory to Russia for peace
Tried to force a rare earth deal on Ukraine like a gangster
Has never been to Kiev too see for himself. The weak Biden went and saw the horrific crimes Russia has committed.
Clapped putin into alaska and rolled out the red carpet for putin
Trump is putins man. He has a unique opportunity to support Ukraine to push Russia back to the dark ages where it belongs but he has squandered that opportunity. Trump is a no hopper for Ukraine. Stop talking like a fool Trump and act like an American president. But he won’t.
Jack Coombs
Sounds like a plan, the Chinese govt. are bankrolling an expansionist war of a hostile Russia on the very borders of Europe and they are bribing, spying and infiltrating their way across Europe. Of course we should push back.
Bruce McStay
President Trump is playing another blinder here.
Pressuring the EU countries to up their game and stop buying Russian gas.
Magaputler troll :
David G Smith
Russia is not Hamas or Iran. Going for it with Russia is not what Trump was ejected to do. He was elected as a peacemaker to keep the US out of any more remote foreign conflicts that have always tended to end badly.
Trevor Smallwood
Reply to David G Smith
Trump had no peace making credentials while campaigning. Aspirations maybe, but runs on the board, no.
Russia is attacking Ukraine David. Those who support Ukraine’s survival are not responsible for the destruction in Ukraine, Vlad is responsible.
Ukraine is a sovereign country, it has a right to exist, no matter what the deluded gnome in the Kremlin imagines.
If we’re going to continue to be taxed without representation it will sting a little less if at least some funds are going towards Ukraine again.