Questioning Kyiv: Trump Jr. seeks clarity on assassination suspect
Shafaq News / On Tuesday, Donald Trump Jr. accused Ukrainian authorities of withholding information related to the July 2024 assassination attempt on his father, President Donald Trump.
In a post on X, Trump Jr. questioned why Kyiv failed to disclose what he described as an effort by a suspect to procure military-grade weapons to target his father. “The fact that they never told us this lunatic was trying to buy weapons from them to kill my father seems like a much bigger problem. I wonder why?” he wrote.
If you think it’s bad that Ukraine never said thank you for everything the United States has done for them, the fact that they seemingly did not tell us that this sociopath literally tried to buy arms from them to assassinate my father seems like a much bigger deal. Wonder why?!? pic.twitter.com/LUr5mOkPh2
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) April 8, 2025
His remarks followed a Newsweek report citing a Florida court filing submitted to the US Department of Justice. According to the documents, Ryan Wesley Ruth, who now faces charges in connection with an assassination attempt on Trump, had attempted to purchase a rocket-propelled grenade launcher and a Stinger missile one month before his arrest.
The filing states that Ruth had been communicating through a secure messaging app with a contact believed to have links to Ukrainian sources and access to advanced weaponry. In one exchange, Ruth allegedly wrote: “Send me an RPG or Stinger and I’ll see what I can do. Trump is not good for Ukraine.”
Ukrainian military officials have acknowledged that Ruth made repeated attempts to enlist with their forces, although none were successful. US authorities have not confirmed any formal ties between Ruth and the Ukrainian government or military.
Notably, President Trump survived two assassination attempts during the 2024 election campaign.
The first occurred on July 13 during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a gunman opened fire from a rooftop approximately 100 meters from the stage. The gunfire grazed Trump’s ear, killed one attendee, and injured two others. The assailant, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot and killed by the US Secret Service.
A second incident unfolded on December 15 outside Trump’s Mar-a-Lago golf club in Florida. Ruth was taken into custody in connection with the attempt and remains in federal detention.
