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End Ukraine war or face stricter sanctions, tariffs – Trump warns Putin

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Donald Trump has warned of imposing steep tariffs and additional sanctions on Russia if President Vladimir Putin fails to end the war in Ukraine.

Writing on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump claimed that pushing for a resolution to the conflict would be doing Russia and its leader “a very big favour.”

The former U.S. president has previously stated that he could negotiate a settlement to Russia’s full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022, within a single day.

While Russia has not yet officially responded to Trump’s remarks, senior officials have recently hinted at a narrow window for Moscow to engage with the incoming U.S. administration.

President Putin has reiterated his willingness to negotiate an end to the conflict, which initially began in 2014, but insists Ukraine must accept Russian territorial gains—currently about 20% of Ukraine’s land—and abandon its NATO membership aspirations.

Kyiv, however, remains steadfast in refusing to relinquish territory, although President Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged the possibility of temporarily ceding some occupied regions.

On Tuesday, Trump told reporters he would be speaking to Putin “very soon” and suggested that additional sanctions could be introduced if the Russian leader does not engage in negotiations.

In a more assertive post on Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump wrote, “I’m going to do Russia, whose economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR.”

“Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE. If we don’t make a ‘deal’, and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries.”

Continuing, he said: “Let’s get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with! We can do it the easy way, or the hard way – and the easy way is always better. It’s time to “MAKE A DEAL”.”

Russia’s deputy UN ambassador, Dmitry Polyanskiy, told Reuters that the Kremlin would need clarity on Donald Trump’s terms for a peace deal before considering any steps to end the war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, emphasized that any peace agreement would require the deployment of at least 200,000 peacekeepers.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Zelensky insisted that any peacekeeping force must include U.S. troops to serve as a credible deterrent to Russia. “It can’t be without the United States… Even if some European friends think it can be, no, it will not,” he stated, adding that no other nation would take such a risk without U.S. involvement.

While Ukraine’s leadership might welcome Trump’s tougher rhetoric—believing Putin only responds to strength—initial reactions in Kyiv suggest a focus on actions rather than words.

Trump has yet to provide specifics on potential new economic penalties against Russia, including their targets or timeline. Russian imports to the U.S. have already plummeted since 2022, with numerous heavy restrictions currently in place.

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