Trump threatens Russia with taxes and announces weaponry for Ukraine.
Moscow — In addition to offering Kyiv “billions of dollars” worth of military hardware, President Trump on Monday threatened to impose harsh taxes on nations that trade with Moscow as a form of punishment if the Kremlin is unable to reach an agreement on a ceasefire with Ukraine.
“We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days,” Trump stated as he met with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House. Trump remarked, “I use trade for a lot of things,” “But it’s great for settling wars.”
As Trump grows more irate with the Kremlin leader over his ongoing war in Ukraine, it was his most recent threat against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
President Trump clarified that NATO nations would purchase American-made munitions, such as Patriot air defense missile systems, which they would then supply to Ukraine.
Ahead of the meeting with Rutte, Trump told reporters on Sunday that the military purchases were a clear jab at Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We will send them Patriots, which they desperately need because Putin really surprised a lot of people,” Trump stated. “He talks nice and then he bombs everybody in the evening.”
To offer Trump quick leverage with Moscow, Republican senators have attempted to rewrite a draft bill that would give him an on/off switch for sanctions.
When taken as a whole, the actions mark a dramatic shift in Trump’s stance toward President Putin regarding the Ukraine issue. He went from saying he could use his connections with Putin to negotiate a peace deal to publicly denouncing the Kremlin leader as uninterested in war-ending talks.
“It’s all talk and then missiles go into Kyiv and kill 60 people,” Trump stated on Monday. “It’s got to stop.”
White House ambassador Keith Kellogg made the news while in Kyiv, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In a video posted to social media, Zelenskyy seemed positive, describing his discussions with Kellogg as a “productive conversation” and complimenting Trump on his “important signals of support” for Ukraine.
We talked about the way to peace and what we can all do in practice to move closer to it. This involves bolstering Ukraine’s air defense and working with Europe to jointly produce and acquire defense weaponry,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
“We hope for U.S. leadership, as it is clear that Moscow will not stop unless its unreasonable ambitions are curbed through strength.”
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin back in Moscow, stated that Russia was awaiting the full details of Trump’s speech but presented the choice to supply weapons through NATO as simply a repackaging of U.S. policy.
It is still true that Ukraine continues to receive military hardware, ammunition, and weaponry from the United States,” Peskov told reporters.
In a similar vein, the spokesperson downplayed Trump’s previous offensive remarks that implied Putin wasn’t serious about talks.
Peskov pointed out that the American leader frequently had “tough talk,” but Russia still aimed to mend bilateral ties.
Moscow political analysts speculated that the Kremlin’s subdued reaction was a recognition that it was coping with an unpredictable US president.
Trump may be angry with Ukraine tomorrow, just as he is with Russia today.
“Why should they ruin relations completely?” The Vatfor analysis platform, based in Moscow, stated in an interview with NPR’s Sergey Poletaev.
“In another six months or so, the pendulum could swing back the other way.”